First welterweight fight in the books ✔️
[
#TUF33 | TUES on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/yLDTiilrLX— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter)
June 4, 2025
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Daniel
Donchenko is the first welterweight to advance to the
semifinals on “The Ultimate Fighter 33.”
The Team Cormier representative took a hard-fought decison victory
over Team Sonnen’s Richard
Martins in a 170-pound quarterfinal pairing on Episode 2, as he
relied on a more consistent offensive attack to get the nod from
the judges in the two-round affair.
The 23-year-old Ukraine native had his most memorable moment in the
opening stanza, when he rattled Martins with a right hand within
the first 30 seconds and swarmed with offense against the fence.
That onslaught prompted referee Herb Dean to
take a close look, but Martins was able to regain his bearings and
avoid a stoppage.
The Brazilian wasn’t in serious danger from that point forward, but
Donchenko controlled the majority of the action behind leg kicks,
pressure and right hands the rest of the way. The effort was enough
to impress UFC CEO Dana White.
“The fight starts, and right away Danil catches Richard with a huge
overhand right that rocks him. The kid definitely went in there to
make a statement,” White said. “He goes in for the finish and
almost gets the knockout.”
Daniel
Cormier was pleased with the work from his charge over the
course of the 10-minute affair, especially after Martins was able
to withstand the initial barrage.
“Richard though, unbelievably tough, was able to withstand the
onslaught and honestly worked his way back into the fight,” Cormier
said. “Danil was doing enough of the punching and then landing
kicks at the right time to really make an impact in the judges’
minds.”
On the other side, Chael Sonnen
was well aware that Martins let an opportunity slip through his
hands with a slow start.
“A fight is a dance. Only one person can lead at a time,” Sonnen
said. “If someone comes out like Daniel did and they take charge,
if you can’t take it back — it’s impossible to win. And Richard
tried.”
As a result, Team Cormier was able to even the score against Team
Sonnen after Joseph
Morales choked out Eduardo
Henrique on Episode 1 of “TUF 33.” With that settled, it was up
to Cormier make his first fight pick, and he selected Imanol
Rodriguez to lock horns with Team Sonnen’s Arshiyan
Memon in the next flyweight quarterfinal.
“This should be a great fight,” White said.