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eam Grasso and Team Shevchenko pose for a photo during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter at UFC APEX on March 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
The Ultimate Fighter

Episode 1 Recap | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32

Catch Up On Everything That Happened On The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs Team Shevchenko
DAY ONE

The athletes arrive at the UFC APEX, where they’re met by UFC CEO Dana White and this season’s coaches, flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and No. 1 contender Valentina Shevchenko.

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White outlines that this is the 20-year anniversary of The Ultimate Fighter, noting that the show has produced 15 UFC champions, reminding everyone of the difficulty ahead of them this season. The two weight classes represented this season are featherweight and middleweight, with 16 athletes from 14 countries competing.

Guillermo Torres and Alexa Grasso on Season 32 The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs Team Shevchenko
Guillermo Torres and Coach Alexa Grasso (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

The coaches go through an evaluation period with this season’s competitors in the UFC Performance Center before picking teams. Grasso wins the coin flip and has the first selection, drafting featherweight Guillermo Torres with the first overall selection. Shevchenko teases Grasso about selecting one of her teammates and another of her targets, then hands out bullets to each member of her team once the sides are selected.

TUF 32 RECAPS: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

TUF HOUSE

The athletes arrive at the TUF House and start settling in, selecting rooms, exploring the backyard, and getting to know each other, with everyone hanging the flag from their nation above their bed.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT: FEATHERWEIGHT

Because Grasso had first pick of the fighters, Shevchenko has the first fight pick, and selects Roedie Roets to face Torres, explaining that she wanted to put her top fighter against a strong wrestler. This is a pairing of each coach’s No. 1 selection and should be a dynamite way to kick off Season 32.

Roedie Roets and coach Valentina Shevchenko on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs Team Shevchenko
Roedie Roets and coach Valentina Shevchenko (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Roets introduces himself in his home video from the family farm in Polokwane, South Africa, a dairy, chicken, and cattle farm that has been in the family for generations.

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He explains that because he was undersized, Roets shifted to wrestling rather than pursue a career in rugby, starting when he was just a young boy. His father was his wrestling coach, and from a young age, Roets dreamed about competing in the UFC. He introduces his girlfriend, who is also a national champion in wrestling, and says goodbye to both as he departs for Las Vegas.

GUILLERMO TORRES FIGHT PREP

Going through a mitt session with Grasso, Torres explains in an interstitial interview that he competed in the Olympics in wrestling for Mexico. Grasso keeps working with him to develop his boxing more, working through combinations on the double-edged reflex ball, showing him different exercises that she’s used to develop her hands over the years.

How To Watch This Season Of The Ultimate Fighter

TEAM SHEVCHENKO TRAINING SESSION

Shevchenko starts her first team session by explaining to everyone that when they’re training, they don’t drink water, detailing her reasoning in an interstitial interview.

RELATED: Get To Know Torres | Get To Know Roets

“When you’re drinking water, you kind of focus on that you’re tired,” she says. “This is a way you develop your champion’s mindset.”

Shevchenko works closely with Roets as he prepares for Torres, focusing on sharpening his striking skills as he readies to face the experienced wrestler.

Guillermo Torres and Roedie Roets face off on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs Team Shevchenko
Guillermo Torres and Roedie Roets face off (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

TUF HOUSE

Torres hangs pictures on his wall of his mother, his sister, and his daughter, showing off a tattoo drawn by his daughter as tears stream down his face.

His home video from Guadalajara rolls, opening with his mother, Ima Cervantes, showing off the sports complex where her son began his athletic journey.

SEE IT AGAIN: How To Watch This Season Of The Ultimate Fighter

Torres explains that he competed in the London 2012 Summer Games and transitioned to fighting after his daughter was born. The video cuts to Scottsdale, Arizona, where the 37-year-old who traditionally competes at bantamweight lives and trains at Fight Ready MMA. He explains that he’s divorced and his daughter lives at home with her mother.

We see Torres going through the paces at Fight Ready, and he tears up again an in interstitial interview speaking about the distance between him and his daughter.

FEATHERWEIGHT WEIGH-INS

Roets is up first and hits 145 pounds on the dot before Torres follows and hits the same mark, making the first fight of the season official.

White breaks down the matchup, pointing out Roets’ height advantage, and believes this will be an electric way to kick off the competition.

Roedie Roets punches Guillermo Torres on episode 1 of Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs Team Shevchenko
Roedie Roets punches Guillermo Torres (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

FIGHT DAY

Both Roets and Torres arrive at the UFC APEX and head to their respective locker rooms, getting wrapped and warming up in the back, receiving last-minute direction from Shevchenko and Grasso.

The featherweight hopefuls make the walk to the cage and step in for the first fight of the season.

Roedie Roets Talks Win Over Torres | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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Roedie Roets Talks Win Over Torres | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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There is a 10-year age difference between the two — Torres is 37, Roets is 27 — and the South African has a four-inch edge in height, and six-inch edge in reach; both men are 7-1 in their pro careers.

These are two-round fights with a sudden victory overtime available if the athletes are deadlocked after the first two rounds.

GUILLERMO TORRES vs ROEDIE ROETS

The top picks in the featherweight division for each team squared off in the first bout of the season, with Team Grasso’s Torres earning the first win in the competition.

Team Shevchenko’s Roets made the most of his size advantage, controlling Torres in the clinch through the majority of the opening round, attacking with knees to the head when he was in a back waist lock and knees to the midsection when they were face-to-face in the over-under position. Torres drew level in the second, attacking straight out of the corner and putting Roets on the canvas, keeping his shoulders planted to the mat for the first half the round. But after Roets scrambled to his feet, he immediately put Torres on the mat, only to lose the position, giving the Team Grasso fighter a chance to close out the round on top and draw level.

Valentina Shevchenko Reacts To Roedie Roets Win | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!

Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!

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Valentina Shevchenko Reacts To Roedie Roets Win | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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They traded shots on the feet to start the third round, with Roets shooting first, ending up in front in a clinch position on the fence, where he went back to the knees to the midsection that worked well in the first. When Torres pressed forward late in the fight, Roets timed a level change perfectly to dump him to the canvas, doing well to defend Torres’ desperation leg lock attempt and remain in control through to the final horn.

Alexa Grasso Reacts To Guillermo Torres' Loss | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!

Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!

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Alexa Grasso Reacts To Guillermo Torres' Loss | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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OFFICIAL RESULT:
Roedie Roets defeats Guillermo Torres by unanimous decision

Shevchenko, Grasso, and White recap the fight, with each coach detailing how their charge won their round early, and the UFC CEO talking through the third frame, calling Roets’ effort “very impressive.”

SEE IT AGAIN: How To Watch This Season Of The Ultimate Fighter

Roets and Team Shevchenko are excited, while Team Grasso tries to lift Torres up after a hard-fought loss.

Roedie Roets é anunciado vencedor da luta contra Guillermo Torres no The Ultimate Fighter 32, em 2024. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Roedie Roets é anunciado vencedor da luta contra Guillermo Torres no The Ultimate Fighter 32, em 2024. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Team Shevchenko takes the early lead and has the opportunity to select the first middleweight matchup as well, picking Shamidkhan Magomedov to face off with Team Grasso’s Omran Chaaban.

Get ready — it’s going to be an incredible season!