Outside Source
The Goat Shed Academy export on Tuesday overcame an inauspicious start to dispose of Tumelo Manyamala with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their flyweight quarterfinal on Episode 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33. Echeverria brought it to a close 3:14 into Round 2, providing Team Sonnen with its second straight win while moving ever closer to an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.
Manyamala snapped out his jab, fired off clean one-twos, countered effectively and managed to stay upright through the first five minutes. He dropped Echeverria with a thudding overhand right and swarmed with follow-up punches in a bid to finish. Those efforts failed, and Manyamala looked like a different fighter when he stepped out for the middle stanza. Echeverria executed a pair of takedowns and eventually progressed to the back, securing his position with a body triangle. The 29-year-old Venezuelan then snaked his arms in place for the choke. Manyamala, 26, never once tried to free himself and inevitably tapped once his opponent’s squeeze took hold.
The result left Daniel Cormier searching for answers as the South African’s coach.
“This is the part of coaching that drives me crazy,” he said. “We [kept] telling him not to get to the Octagon side. It’s the only way Roy can take him down. I don’t know why he shut down like that. It was very odd. For as well as he listened in Round 1, he seemed to shut off in Round 2.”
It came off as just another day at the office for opposing coach Chael Sonnen.
“Tumelo got frustrated,” he said. “Roybert was able to shift that position, went real slow and got everything done.”
The win moves Echeverria into the flyweight semifinals, alongside Joseph Morales, Imanol Rodriguez and Idris Alibi.
“There are no words for it,” Echeverria said. “It’s an amazing feeling. I’m so grateful for this. I don’t care who’s next. I’m ready for all of them.”
An introspective Manyamala took the loss in stride.
“It’s just another small bump in the road,” he said. “I’m still very young in my career. I have a long way to go. Fought a very game opponent. It happens. We win. We lose.”
It sets the stage for the last welterweight quarterfinal between the season’s top two picks: Team Sonnen’s Diego Bianchini and Team Cormier’s Rodrigo Sezinando.
“This is one we’ve all been waiting for,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “[They] absolutely hate each other, and they’re competing for the last welterweight semifinal spot. These two did not like each other right off the bat. Tension has been building between them the entire season, and they finally get to settle it in the Octagon.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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