Valentina Shevchenko has her very first finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 32.

In the opening bout of this season’s middleweight semifinals, Ryan Loder (6-1) utilized old-fashioned American battling to grind out a win over Finland’s Omran Chaaban (6-1). It was a hard-fought win for the Team Bullet fighter who advances to the finals with a shot to win a six-figure UFC agreement.

He waits for the winner of the 2nd middleweight semifinal bout in between Team Alexa Grasso’s Paddy McCorry and Robert Valentin.

Loder adhered to the gameplan to protect his triumph, awaiting the best opportunity to utilize his fumbling and ground the more striking-minded Chaaban. After a sluggish start, Loder took Chaaban down at the end of Round 1 to edge out a close frame, then did the exact same midway through Round 2 with a lot of more time to work. Loder’s standup sufficed to keep Chaaban truthful as he blended in stiff leg kicks and a prompt counter right.

A Round 3 charge from Chaaban had Loder pulling away for much of the last 5 minutes, however Chaaban required a surface to take the win after falling back on the cards. Loder weathered the storm and is now another strong efficiency far from landing a UFC offer.

This week’s episode included little drama beyond the cage, with everybody getting along after the conclusion of the quarterfinals. Giannis Bachar prepared a conventional Greek supper for the whole home, and Loder applauded his castmates for welcoming variety on the program and appreciating each other’s culture and religious beliefs.

Next week, we learn who the very first TUF 32 featherweight finalist will be as Team Grasso’s Kaan Ofli handles Team Bullet’s Roedie Roets.

Plus, Grasso and Shevchenko take on in the season’s Coaches Challenge, which sees them shoot some hoops in front of WNBA star Kelsey Plum.

The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Following the season ending, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are set to take on in a flyweight champion trilogy bout at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight competitions will likewise complete for a six-figure UFC agreement at the program’s live ending. A date for that occasion is yet to be revealed.

Here are the TUF 32 lineups divided by group:

Team Grasso

Featherweights

1. Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
2. Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
3. Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
4. Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)

Middleweights

1. Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
2. Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1)
3. Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
4. Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)

Team Shevchenko

Featherweights

1. Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1)
2. Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
3. Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
4. Edwin Cooper Jr. (U.S.A.) (6-1)

Middleweights

1. Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
2. Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
3. Ryan Loder (U.S.A.) (6-1)
4. Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)

See the semifinal outcomes listed below:

Middleweight

Ryan Loder def. Omran Chaaban by means of choice

Paddy McCorry vs. Robert Valentin

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli vs. Roedie Roets

Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Mairon Santos

See quarterfinal outcomes listed below:

Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres by means of choice

Robert Valentin def. Giannis Bachar by means of KO (strikes) (R1)

Kaan Ofli def. Nathan Fletcher by means of choice

Omran Chaaban def. Shamidkhan Magomedov by means of technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)

Zygimantas Ramaska def. Bekhzod Usmonov

Ryan Loder def. Tom Theocharis by means of submission (arm-triangle choke)

Mairon Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. by means of split choice

Paddy McCorry def. Mark Hulme by means of submission (guillotine choke) (R1)