The Ultimate Fighter 32: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko Episode 7 results

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are dead even when it comes to their featherweight fighters.

This week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 32 featured the final quarterfinal matchup of the 145-pound tournament, which saw Team Grasso’s Mairon Santos (13-1) win a hard-fought split decision over Team Bullet’s Edwin Cooper Jr. (6-1). That leaves the opposing coaches neck-and-neck in the competition, with both having sent two featherweights to the semifinals.

Team Grasso’s latest win was far from easy as Santos and Cooper went to a third “sudden victory” round after two competitive frames. Cooper, a lifelong wrestler, effectively neutralized Santos’ striking in the first round with five minutes of tenacious grappling. It was a clear 10-9 for the Team Bullet fighter, but Santos wasn’t finished.

The 23-year-old Brazilian got his striking going in Round 2 and Cooper was unable to bring the fight back to the mat. Santos pressed forward and connected with accurate blows to the head and body, pushing Cooper back for the entirety of the round. To no one’s surprise, a third round—only used on TUF if the scores are tied after two rounds—was needed.

Round 3 was razor close as Santos dominated much of the early action, only for Cooper to come on late with some aggressive striking and a late takedown. Neither fighter managed to land a definitive blow in the final round, though Santos appeared to have the edge in impactful strikes, and the judges agreed as he earned a split nod.

Long touted as a top prospect out of Brazil, Santos advances to the semifinals alongside teammate Kaan Ofli (Australia), and Team Bullet fighters Roedie Roets (South Africa) and Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania).

Next week features the final middleweight bout of the quarterfinals as Team Grasso’s Paddy McCrory fights Team Bullet’s Mark Hulme.

The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Following the season finale, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are expected to face off in a flyweight championship trilogy bout at a date still to be determined.

The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournaments will also compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the show’s live finale. A date for that event is also yet to be announced.

Here are the TUF 32 rosters divided by team:

Team Grasso

Featherweights

1. Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
2. Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
3. Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
4. Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)

Middleweights

1. Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
2. Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1)
3. Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
4. Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)

Team Shevchenko

Featherweights

1. Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1)
2. Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
3. Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
4. Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)

Middleweights

1. Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
2. Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
3. Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1)
4. Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)

Here are the quarterfinal results so far:

Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres via decision

Robert Valentin def. Giannis Bachar via KO (strikes) (R1)

Kaan Ofli def. Nathan Fletcher via decision

Omran Chaaban def. Shamidkhan Magomedov via technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)

Zygimantas Ramaska def. Bekhzod Usmonov

Ryan Loder def. Tom Theocharis via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Mairon Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. via split decision

Advancing to semifinals: Roets, Valentin, Ofli, Chaaban, Ramaska, Loder, Santos

Eliminated: Torres, Bachar, Fletcher, Magomedov, Usmonov, Theocharis, Cooper Jr.