Two knockout-friendly middleweights will try to bop one another on
the schnoz for the next 15 minutes or fewer. Referee Dan Movahedi
will draw the charge as Naurdiev (24-8, 3-3 UFC) and Loder (7-2,
1-1 UFC) prepare for mutual combat. Fists are bumped before they
are traded. Naurdiev advances behind his outstretched left hand, fingers
pointing straight at his opponent’s face. He opens up with a huge
right hand after about 30 seconds of waiting, and the air is the
only thing struck by it. Loder holds out his jab, and Naurdiev
reaches him with a front kick and a right hand over the top that
makes him smile. Loder charges at him behind four consecutive
straight lefts, and Naurdiev’s grin grows even wider. Naurdiev
resets and works his way forward. Suddenly coiling back a right hand, he releases a head-seeking
missile that lands about as cleanly as one can. Loder is out before
the back of his head clatters lifelessly off the canvas, and
Naurdiev knows that his work here is done. Although
Movahedi gets between them, Naurdiev is already raising his hands
in the air and celebrating with his team. On autopilot, Loder
somehow rolls over, but he is still out as he flops right down on
his face. Movahedi and the medical professionals bring him back
around, and Naurdiev leaps atop the cage to take in the cheers from
the adoring masses in Qatar. While Naurdiev had already claimed
half of his pro wins by knockout, it is the first time he has
notched a clean KO since 2017. It could not have come at a better
time.

Middleweights are up next, as Loder will look to defend Midwestern
honor against Bekoev, who is announced amid a shower of boos. Gary
Copeland draws his first referee assignment of the evening and at
his word, they engage. Loder is southpaw, Bekoev orthodox, and
Loder closes the distance, driving the Russian into the cage. He
drags Bekoev to his knees, but Bekoev pops right back up, and they
disengage as they move back into space. Loder enters again and is
caught with a big right hand. He staggers back into the fence,
where Bekoev swarms with hooks from both hands. Loder survives and
tries to reset, though he is clearly still compromised. Loder
staggers to his right along the fence, with Bekoev in pursuit,
landing a salvo of right hands. Loder manages to tie Bekoev up and
give himself a moment to recover, but Bekoev shoves him back to the
fence, where he braces him with a forearm to the chest before
opening up with punches once again. Loder tries to return fire and
lands a left hand, but Bekoev comes back with a half-dozen punches.
One of them, a flush right hand, is too much, felling Loder like a
tree against the fence. Loder covers up as Bekoev swarms with
standing-to-ground punches. Referee Copeland is looking on closely,
and after three or four more unanswered blows land with no movement
from the American, he steps in to stop the mauling. Relentless work
by Azamat Bekoev.

Only one competitor reps Team Shevchenko in the two finals matches,
and Loder (6-1, 0-0 UFC) has the weight of his team on his
shoulders. While Loder outworked Omran Chaaban in the semis,
Valentin (10-3, 1 NC; 0-0 UFC) blew through the opposition with two
first-round stoppages to come in as the odds-on favorite. Things
will get underway under the watchful eye of referee Mark Smith, and
he watches the middleweights slowly work towards one another
without touching gloves to get started. Loder moves forward, and he
lifts Valentin up and deposits him to the mat. Valentin threatens
with a triangle choke off his back, allowing him to flip over and
get to his hands and knees. Loder holds on from the side, and
Valentin rolls over and ends up falling to his back. Loder attacks
with a scarf hold and an armlock, and Valentin rolls all the way
through the submission to miraculously take Loder’s back. Valentin
gets his hooks in, and Loder scrambles madly to work his way to his
knees. Valentin slides another hook in, and he flattens Loder out
while sneaking a rear-naked choke under the chin. Loder ignores the
choke and punches his opponent in the side of the head, and he
stops punching and hand-fights. Loder sits up as the choke falls
off, and he is dragged to his back as Valentin looks for another
rear-naked choke. Through sheer force of will, Loder turns himself
around in the body lock, and he winds up in top position. Loder
slowly does work on top, opening up with the occasional elbow while
Valentin keeps his guard closed. Loder opens the guard up with
ground strikes, and Valentin responds with elbows off his back.
Loder grinds the remainder of the round out. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Loder Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Loder Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Loder

Loder reintroduces himself to start the round with a winging right
hand, using it as a way to close the distance. Valentin knows what
is coming, but he cannot stop it. A takedown from Loder dumps him
on the ground, and he claims side control and starts to set up the
crucifix position. With Valentin’s right arm between his legs and
the left arm stuck on the other side, Loder is able to hammer
Valentin with elbows. Valentin bucks and kicks, trying to push off
the fencing and move any way he can, but Loder is flat on top of
him battering him with elbows. Smith keeps a close eye on the action, and the elbows start to mark
Valentin’s face up and rip open a tiny cut on the cheek. Valentin
defends his face but is taking damage, and that is all he is able
to do. Loder does not let him off the hook, elbowing him with
impunity until Smith has to call a halt to the match. Just like that, "The Man of Steel" notches the slight upset and
crowns himself the winner of TUF’s Season 32 at 185 pounds. In the
cage, he is greeted with his trophy held by ring girl Red Dela
Cruz, and not even coach Valentina Shevchenko appears to be in the
building to celebrate her fighter pulling off the win.

Ryan Loder

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