“This was one of the best fights I’ve seen in years on The Ultimate Fighter.”
That is how UFC president Dana White described the featherweight matchup between Zygimantas Ramaska of Lithuania and Tajikistan’s Bekhzod Usmonov on the fifth episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs. Team Shevchenko.
The thinking was when Valentina Shevchenko chose for Ramaska to face Usmonov of Tajikistan in the second 145-pound bout of the season, that these two fighters would engage in an all-action tilt and that’s exactly how it unfolded.
Ramaska, 27, is 9-2 as a pro with all his wins coming inside the distance, while Usmonov, 28, has been living and training at the famed Jackson-Wink gym in Albuquerque, N.M., and is no stranger to a slugfest. The 11-4 fighter even competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship twice in 2023.
Both fighters missed weight by less than half a pound prior to the fight. Instead of both cutting the additional weight, they agreed to a catchweight bout, the athletic commission allowed it, and Dana White agreed with the decision to greenlight the fighters to compete despite both weighing slightly above the 146-pound limit.
When the fight began, neither wasted any time. The intense striking match had a fast pace with Ramaska the more aggressive of the two.
Usmonov had a nifty trip at one point early and he dropped Ramaska midway through the opening round with a hard overhand right, but Ramaska survived thanks to his durability and conditioning. Although he was rocked, Ramaska mounted an impressive recovery and comeback as once he was back to his feet he began to retake control of the fight.
Both fighters competed with their foot on the gas for the entire first round, but Usmonov noticeably slowed down in the second and a third was not required as Ramaska was awarded the two-round decision victory to advance.
NEXT UP
It will be an all-North American encounter on the next episode of TUF 32 when Toronto’s Thomas Theocharis of Team Grasso takes on Sacramento’s Ryan Loder of Team Shevchenko in middleweight action.
PREVIOUSLY ON TUF 32
Episode 4: Omran Chaaban of Team Grasso earned a comeback win when he submitted Team Shevchenko’s Shamidkhan Magomedov and moved on in the 185-pound bracket.
Episode 3: Australia’s Kaan Ofli of Team Grasso defeated England’s Nathan Fletcher of Team Shevchenko via unanimous two-round decision to advance in the 145-pound tournament.
Episode 2: The middleweight tournament opened with Team Grasso’s Robert Valentin earning an 18-second knockout win over Team Shevchenko’s Giannis Bachar.
Episode 1: Roedie Roets of Team Shevchenko defeated Guillermo Torres of Team Grasso via three-round decision in the first featherweight fight of the season.