Joseph Morales Throttles Eduardo Henrique on Episode 1 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 33’

The OFFICIAL #TUF33 teams :boom: pic.twitter.com/wyRS2YXguH

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) May 28, 2025

Season 33 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series lifted off with Episode 1 on Tuesday, as 16 participants—eight flyweights and eight welterweights—from 10 different countries set out in search of an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will serve as coaches for the 12-week season.

“Both of these guys are very competitive and they both want to win,” UFC CEO Dana White said, “so this should be a very entertaining season.”

Evaluations led into team selections. Cormier won a coinflip between the coaches, elected to draft first in each weight class and chose reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Eduardo Henrique as the No. 1 overall flyweight. Sonnen countered by selecting Team Alpha Male’s Joseph Morales, a man who already has three UFC appearances under his belt. Attention then turned to the 170-pound competitors. Cormier picked Rodrigo Sezinando as the No. 1 overall welterweight. Sonnnen went with Diego Bianchini.

Cormier rounded out his squad with flyweights Idiris Alibi, Imanol Rodriguez and Tumelo Manyamala, alongside welterweights Daniel Donchenko, Jefferson Creighton and Alejandro Sanchez. Sonnen, meanwhile, filled out his roster with flyweights Furkatbek Yokubov, Roybert Echeverria and Arshiyan Memon, alongside welterweights Matt Dixon, Richard Martins and Andreeas Binder.

Because Cormier was afforded the first pick, Sonnen earned the right to choose the participants for the first fight. He immediately went for the jugular, pitting Morales against Henrique in a showdown between the top flyweight picks on each side. Both men met their contracted weight requirements—Morales at 126 pounds and Henrique at 125.5 pounds—at the weigh-in, where chippiness between the two teams began to brew.

The fight did not last long. Morales lured the Brazilian into false sense of security on the feet, obliging him with a few standup exchanges. Once the opportunity presented itself, he swooped in for a clean double-leg takedown and forced Enrique into a scramble. Morales advanced to the back, secured his position with a body triangle, freed his hands and cinched a rear-naked choke for the tapout inside the first round. It was a clinical performance.

“Joseph’s UFC experience showed,” White said. “He was smart, patient, and when the fight went to the ground, he was just too much for Eduardo. That was an impressive finish.”

The win moves Morales into the flyweight semifinals.

“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like some of the weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’m ready to move on to the next fight. It felt good to shut them up for a little bit. Their team was yappin’, yappin’ and yappin’, but all of a sudden, it got real quiet. I couldn’t hear anything. I feel like I proved that I’m one of the top flyweights here. I feel like the pressure’s on me to win the show, but I thrive under the pressure.”

It was a quick exit for Henrique.

“I’m feeling a heavy tightness in my chest because, whether I like it or not, I made mistakes,” he said through a translator. “I know every champion make mistakes. Every champion has ups and downs.”

To conclude the episode Sonnen announced the first welterweight fight. It will feature Team Sonnen’s Martins in a showdown with Team Cormier’s Donchenko.

“Two strikers going head-to-head,” White said. “This is going to be a fun one.”