The final episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs. Team Shevchenko featured a dramatic last-minute opponent change.
Zygimantas Ramaska had been dealing with a facial fracture ever since his featherweight quarterfinal fight with Bekhzod Usmonov and he was not medically cleared to compete by Nevada’s athletic commission, which did not render its final decision until the day of the fight.
Ramaska was scheduled to face Mairon Santos in the last remaining featherweight semifinal and the final bout of TUF 32, however, Ramaska’s Team Shevchenko teammate Edwin Cooper and Team Grasso’s Guillermo Torres were notified they could potentially be called upon as a backup option for Santos.
Both also made weight the day prior to the fight and following the commission’s decision not to clear Ramaska, they deemed Torres was in better condition than Cooper to compete and he stepped in to face his Team Grasso teammate.
Torres was eliminated by Roedie Roets after losing a competitive three-round decision in the first fight of the season.
Santos hurt Torres early in the first round with a left hook and did the more effective work on the feet. Torres stuck around despite the short-notice call and went the distance but lost a unanimous decision.
Brazil's Santos will face Australia's Kaan Olfi in the featherweight tournament final. That 145-pound matchup has been scheduled for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Robert Valentin is set to take on Ryan Loder in the TUF 32 middleweight finals on the main card Saturday.
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