The Ultimate Fighter: Team Cormier vs. Team Sonnen premiered Tuesday night with the debut episode of Season 33 of the UFC’s long-running reality competition series.
The episode began with UFC president Dana White addressing the 16 competitors who’ll compete in two elimination-style tournaments — eight welterweights and eight flyweights, with the tourney winners being awarded a UFC contract.
White acknowledged this year marks the 20th anniversary of the inaugural TUF season and he teased that past winners of the show who went on to earn UFC gold will be making guest appearances all throughout the season.
Former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former two-time title challenger Chael Sonnen are the head coaches on TUF 33 and their first task was to assess the gathered talent at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where the fights take place, then select their respective teams in a draft.
Spoilers below for TUF 33, Episode 1:
Dana White left the Apex after his brief remarks and former UFC light-heavyweight champ and one of the winners from the inaugural season of TUF, Forrest Griffin, mediated the coin toss to see which coach would get his first choice of fighters.
Cormier won the toss, which meant he got first pick for each weight class, and he and Sonnen alternated picks going weight class for weight class.
Below is the full selection order…
1. Eduardo Chapolin, 13-2 flyweight from Brazil
3. Rodrigo Sezinando, 8-1 welterweight from Brazil
5. Alibi Idiris, 10-0 flyweight from Kazakhstan
7. Daniil Donchenko, 11-2 welterweight from Ukraine
9. Imanol Rodriguez, 5-0 flyweight from Mexico
11. Jeff Creighton, 11-2 welterweight from the United States
13. Tumelo Manyamala, 6-1 flyweight from South Africa
15. Alex Sanchez, 15-3 welterweight from Mexico
2. Joseph Morales, 12-2 flyweight from the United States
4. Diego Bianchini, 9-1 welterweight from Brazil
6. Furkatbek Yokubov, 15-4 flyweight from Uzbekistan
8. Matt Dixon, 11-1 welterweight from the United States
10. Roybert Echeverria, 10-2 flyweight from Venezuela
12. Richard Martins, 9-1 welterweight from Brazil
14. Arshiyan Memon, 7-0 flyweight from India
16. Andreeas Binder,10-2 welterweight from Ireland
After the fighters got settled in the mansion where they will live during the course of filming, they returned to the Apex for additional training sessions and the first bout announcement.
Since Sonnen lost the coin toss when choosing fighters, he was granted the opportunity to select the first matchup, and he decided on a best-on-best showdown.
Sonnen had his top pick, Joseph Morales, take on Cormier’s top choice, Eduardo Chapolin, in the first 125-pound bout of the season.
Morales, 30, is the only UFC veteran among the cast and Sonnen described him as the best fighter in the house. Morales won his UFC debut with a submission of Roberto Sanchez in back in 2017 at the age of 22 but was knocked out by Deiveson Figueiredo in his second UFC appearance. Figueiredo went on to become a two-time UFC flyweight champion. Morales then lost a split decision to Eric Shelton in 2018 before getting released by the UFC. He ended up taking a three-year hiatus from the sport, returned to competition in 2021, and has since gone 3-0 in pro bouts on the regional scene.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Chapolin is the reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) flyweight champion.
Becoming LFA flyweight champ is often a precursor of future UFC success. Former two-time UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno and current No. 1-ranked flyweight contender Brandon Royval won LFA gold before having sustained success at the UFC level.
Cormier felt Chapolin had a significant advantage on the feet and in the striking department, while being aware of Morales’s ability to wrestle.
Morales trains with Team Alpha Male in California at the gym of former WEC champion, UFC star and TUF coach Urijah Faber.
Chapolin repeatedly touched Morales to the body and head with jabs early in Round 1, however, Morales timed a takedown and quickly took back control and secured a body triangle.
Morales sunk in a rear-naked choke within a minute of taking the fight to the ground, forcing a tap from Chapolin and advancing to the flyweight semifinals, taking little damage along the way.
“Joseph’s UFC experience showed,” White, who watched from cage side, said of the first fight of the season. “He was smart, patient, and when the fight went to the ground he was just too much for Eduardo. That was an impressive finish.”
Like with the first flyweight matchup, Sonnen also had control of fight selection for the first 170-pound bout of the season.
Team Sonnen’s Richard Martins will face Team Cormier’s Daniil Donchenko next week in a battle of welterweight strikers.