The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) kicked off the welterweight portion of the show’s 33rd season with an entertaining slugfest.
Team Cormier Sought First Victory In TUF Competition
Coming off the heels of a dominant performance in the opening contest of the season in last week’s TUF episode, Team Sonnen secured the lead over Team Cormier when Joseph Morales handedly submitted current Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) champion Eduardo Martinique in a single round.
Seeking to put themselves further on the board in Tuesday’s TUF, Sonnen chose his own Richard Martins to combat Cormier’s Daniil Donchenko in the first welterweight clash of the season.
Sizing Up TUF’s Martins and Donchenko
Hailing all the way from Brazil, Martins had racked up a noteworthy professional record of 9-1, racking up eight total finishes, including seven knockouts. The 26-year old gained a level of notoriety in his home country as one of the top regional prospects with four straight wins in the LFA.
Despite his young age, Ukraine’s Donchenko has compiled a wealth of experience for himself in the competitive mixed martial arts landscape, emerging as quite the UFC hopeful.
Possessing an 11-2 record, the 23-year old has stopped almost every single opponent he has faced while also claiming the Naiza interim lightweight strap, later defending said belt once after being promoted to undisputed champion.
First Round of Welterweight TUF Tournament Began in Electrifying Fashion
Stepping up to the plate to begin the second bout of the season, Donchenko wasted no time in taking the fight to Martins, battering the Brazilian’s leg early while also being the more active fighter. The European emphatically seized the momentum of the scrap, however, after he landed a massive right hook to Martins temple, stunning him momentarily. While he did recover somewhat from the blow, the older man struggled to put together any meaningful offense for the rest of the round.
First welterweight fight in the books ✔️
[ #TUF33 | TUES on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/yLDTiilrLX
— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) June 4, 2025
This largely continued into the second stanza, as Martins couldn’t quite seem to get on the gas pedal, with Donchenko taking full control over the bout with even more damaging leg kicks and volume strikes.
Although he did find some success at a few points, the Ukrainian’s output proved to be the deciding factor, earning him the unanimous decision victory, awarding Team Cormier their first victory in the TUF house.
