UFC Vegas 96 sees two new 'Ultimate Fighters' crowned after back-to-back knockouts scored
25/08/2024 12:27
From Michael Bisping and Nate Diaz, to Tony Ferguson and Kamaru Usman, The Ultimate Fighter has produced a host of UFC stars down the years; with two more fantastic athletes crowed last night in Las Vegas.
With coaches Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko set to throw down for the third time at UFC 306 next month, the 32nd season of TUF came to a dramatic conclusion last night as two new fighters joined the roster.
Mairon Santos named TUF 32 featherweight victor after R2 knockout
Whilst the headlines surrounding UFC Vegas 96 last night have been dominated by Caio Borralho and Michael Morales, the main card also featured the two finales from this season of The Ultimate Fighter.
In the first of the two TUF showcases, Brazilian featherweight Mairon Santos was able to secure his spot on the UFC roster with a vicious second-round knockout of Kaan Ofli.
The 24-year-old certainly has a bright future ahead of him, with a professional record now of 14-1 with eight of those wins coming by way of knockout.
"Man, I don't have the words to describe [this moment], I don't know if I am dreaming – this is amazing," he told Michael Bisping after being handed the iconic trophy, stating that he'd like to follow in The Count's footsteps in the hopes of one day becoming a UFC title holder.
"I'm the new Alex Pereira baby. I want to be a champion just like you [Michael Bisping], so I intend to follow the same path, and I don't want to rush things; I know I'm young and I'm learning but one day, I'm going to be the UFC featherweight champion."
Speaking with the UFC News crew backstage after his win at UFC Vegas 96, Santos would celebrate the fact he's now written his own chapter in the TUF history books.
"It's amazing because I see the names of a lot of guys who, after The Ultimate Fighter, they were able to capture the belt and that's my inspiration, that's my goal and it’s great to be part of this history."
Hilariously, Santos also stated that he's looking forward to getting 'revenge', albeit not over a UFC fighter, but a fast-food chain: "Now, I'm going to eat everything that I can; pizza, doughnuts, hamburgers.
"Bro, my wife is pregnant right now and for the past three months [that] I've been in camp, I have to go to 'In-N-Out' and take food for her all the time and now it will be my revenge."
Ryan Loder crowned TUF 32 middleweight winner with R2 knockout
Following Mairon Santos' second-round knockout win, American middleweight Ryan Loder would also secure a round-two TKO over Robert Valentin to earn his spot on the UFC roster.
"It feels so good, I've been working for this since day one, four years ago I had this dream and now it's finally come true, so I appreciate it," he told Bisping, before revealing that he heard Valentin's arm break during one of his submission attempts.
"I heard his arm pop, he's a tough, tough dude so he fought through it – I thought I broke his arm, and he still got on top and gave me some trouble so congratulations to Robert for being so tough; making it this far is awesome, he should be in the UFC for sure."
Loder is now 7-1 as a professional with five of those victories coming by way of KO/TKO; having previously made his way to the TUF 32 finale with back-to-back submission wins in the quarters and semis.
When asked backstage if he had a message for the rest of the middleweight division, Loder simply stated "I'm coming," as he teased that we're yet to see the best of him in the octagon.
"I'm coming. I have a whole team behind me at Alpha Male and we're coming, I mean I've only been doing MMA for four years so each month [I'm] a different fighter – what you see in this octagon is going to be a totally different fighter next time so, beware.”
With the coaches set to settle the score next month at UFC 306, TUF season 32 ends with one win for Grasso (Santos) and one win for Shevchenko (Loder) – bring on The Sphere.
