Team Daniel Cormier is on fire at TUF 33. After Alibi Idiris stormed into the finals with a stunning first-round TKO over Roybert Echeverria, the spotlight quickly shifted to welterweight Rodrigo Sezinando. DC’s No. 1 pick lived up to the hype, dominating his way to the finals and proving why he’s a force to be feared. But just as his moment of glory arrived, the UFC may have accidentally stolen his thunder.

Back-to-back takedowns, position control, and multiple submission attempts helped Sezinando navigate against Team Cormier’s Jefferson Creighton at TUF 33 welterweight semifinals at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Out of the three cageside judges, two scored the fight in favour of Sezinando, who is now en route to face the winner of the Matt Dixon-Daniel Donchenko fight. A victory at the finals will give him a chance to earn a UFC contract.

After his semi-final victory, Rodrigo Sezinando broke down in tears backstage as he celebrated his success. In addition, during his conversation with the media, he stated, “I’m in the UFC. I’m going to the final. I’m going to fight with thousands of people watching me. The whole world is going to know my history. The whole world is going to know me. I’m definitely very proud of myself.”

The Brazilian dominated the grappling exchanges across all three rounds, securing takedowns at will and executing reversals with finesse. Maintaining back control for most of the fight, Sezinando imposed his will, while Creighton struggled to escape the Brazilian’s clutches.

Speaking to the media, Daniel Cormier stated, “Jeff seemed like he was the better striker, at least from distance. Every time he overextended, Rodrigo just clinched him or got to his takedown position.” Well, Cormier is happy with how the Brazilian performed, but the MMA community believes that the UFC certainly ruined his celebration by leaking it to the media.

MMA world rushes as UFC ruins Rodrigo Sezinando’s victory celebration

A fan criticized the UFC for releasing spoilers before the episodes had even aired, “man these are spoilers lol I was just about to watch the new episode. Now I know who won.” Reacting to the ESPN post, Rodrigo Sezinando came forward to thank everyone for supporting his journey so far: “Thank you, everyone.”

Creighton rallied in the third round, where he was trying to turn around the fight. However, there was no stopping the Brazilian’s takedown strategy. The fight ended up in a split-decision victory for the Brazilian, but there’s no denying that it was an amazing fight. Looking at this, a fan wrote, “That was a great fight!!!!” 

Another social media user expressed that the new fighters should listen to Daniel Cormier when he screams from the sidelines,“Yo Idc what anyone says from the sidelines when DC has a comment it’s coming from a true warrior who knows what is REALLY like inside.”

Last but not least, another social media user called out the UFC for leaking the episode to media houses even before fans had a chance to watch the clash: “They really don’t care if people watch. Spoilers are quick with it.”

Rodrigo Sezinando is just one victory away from earning a UFC contract, but his next opponent will be no joke. While a split decision win is commendable, he will need to deliver a much stronger performance against the winner of the Matt Dixon vs. Daniel Donchenko bout.