The Ultimate Fighter 33: Daniel Cormier vs. Chael Sonnen Episode 10 results, 1st welterweight finalist set

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Daniel Cormier now has two fighters competing at The Ultimate Fighter 33 finale.

That would have been the case regardless of the latest episode’s fight result as this week’s matchup featured a pair of Team Cormier fighters, Rodrigo Sezinando (Brazil) and Jeff Creighton (USA). Through three rounds of action, Sezinando used a wrestling-heavy attack to mostly neutralize Creighton and snatch a split decision victory.

With the win, Sezinando becomes the first TUF 33 welterweight finalist. He awaits the winner

of the other semifinal matchup between teammate Daniil Donchenko (Ukraine) and Team Chael Sonnen fighter Matt Dixon (USA).

Sezinando and Creighton showed each other plenty of respect in the leadup to the fight and that carried over into the cage, where they shared a brief hug before throwing down. Though Sezinando drew first blood with a hard right hand, he quickly revealed his strategy as he changed levels for a takedown. Creighton showed strong wrestling defense, but the persistent Sezinando was able to put him on his back on multiple occasions.

On the ground, Sezinando was aggressive working to improve position, at least in the earlier rounds. He attacked with an arm-triangle in Round 1 and advanced to mount in Round 2, but for the most part, Creighton’s defense prevented Sezinando from doing too much damage.

Creighton got his striking going in the third, only for Sezinando to smartly tie him up and eventually take the right back to the ground. The bout ended with Creighton back on the feet and attacking with a flurry of punches, but it proved to be too little, too late.

On next week’s episode, the finals will be set as Team Cormier’s Imanol Rodriguez (Mexico) takes on Team Sonnen’s Joseph Morales (USA), with the winner meeting Alibi Idris (Kazakhstan) at the finale.

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The Ultimate Fighter 33 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Unlike most editions of TUF, coaches Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will not fight at the conclusion of the season, as both are long retired.

The finalists of the TUF 33 welterweight and flyweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract in the show’s live finale fights. A date for those bouts is yet to be announced.

Here are the TUF 33 rosters divided by team:

Team Cormier

Flyweights

1. Eduardo Henrique (13-2), Brazil
2. Alibi Idiris (10-0), Kazakhstan
3. Imanol Rodriguez (5-0), Mexico
4. Tumelo Manyamala (6-1), South Africa

Welterweights

1. Rodrigo Sezinando (8-1), Brazil
2. Daniil Donchenko (11-2), Ukraine
3. Jeff Creighton (11-2-1), USA
4. Alex Sanchez (15-3), Mexico

Team Sonnen

Flyweights

1. Joseph Morales (12-2), USA
2. Furkatbek Yokubov (13-4), Uzbekistan
3. Roybert Echeverria (10-2), Venezuela
4. Arshiyan Memon (7-0), India

Welterweights

1. Diego Bianchini (9-1), Brazil
2. Matt Dixon (11-1), USA
3. Richard Martins (9-1), Brazil
4. Andreeas Binder (10-1, 1 NC), Ireland

Here are the semifinal results and matchups:

Flyweight

Alibi Idris def. Roybert Echeverria via first-round TKO (strikes)

Imanol Rodriguez vs. Joseph Morales

Welterweight

Daniil Donchenko vs. Matt Dixon

Rodrigo Sezinando def. Jeff Creighton via split decision

Here are the quarterfinal results:

Joseph Morales def. Eduardo Henrique via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Daniil Donchenko def. Richard Martins via decision

Imanol Rodriguez def. Arshiyan Memon via first-round TKO (strikes)

Jeff Creighton def. Andreeas Binder via decision

Alibi Idiris def. Furkatbek Yokubov via decision

Matt Dixon def. Alex Sanchez via first-round TKO (strikes)

Roybert Echeverria def. Tumelo Manyamala via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Rodrigo Sezinando def. Diego Bianchini via decision

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