Episode 8 Recap | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 (2024)

Now, Ireland takes on South Africa, as Paddy McCorry takes on Mark Hulme for the final spot in the middleweight semifinals.

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Who will advance?

MARK HULME FIGHT PREP

The South African veteran goes through reps at the UFC PI as Valentina Shevchenko discusses the matchup in an interstitial interview.

Hulme’s highlight reel kicks off with a fight from Unified MMA, the Canadian promotion where he earned his most recent victory in January by out-hustling Zackary Powell. He explains his style is grappling —“wrestling into grappling” —as he’s shown dominantly moving people around the cage.

Hulme says that McCorry is a puncher and that his wrestling is “non-existent,” while Shevchenko tries to drill in him that he needs to maintain range when it comes to dealing with the Irishman’s striking. Hulme believes he will dictate the pace and location of the fight and outwork McCorry at every turn.

TEAM SHEVCHENKO EXCURSION

In keeping with her approach throughout the season, Shevchenko takes her whole team for helicopter rides over Las Vegas, offering them another opportunity they may not otherwise have if they weren’t a part of her squad.

“We were able to see Las Vegas at night from the land, and now we’re gonna see Las Vegas, how it’s bright and beautiful from the air,” she tells her team. “I’m very excited.”

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Shevchenko explains that her older sister, UFC flyweight Antonina Shevchenko, is a licensed pilot, and that aviation is very “close to my soul, close to my spirit.”

Roets calls it one of the best experiences he’s had in his life, while Hulme praises Shevchenko’s understanding of how to help the team unwind and do something different at the right times. They all thank Shevchenko for the experience after touching down.

UFC APEX

Grasso apologizes to her team for not taking them out on excursions, clarifying that her focus has been on ensuring they have the ability to take full advantage of the UFC PI and everything it has to offer, rather than doing team activities outside of the house.

They all assure her there are no issues and show appreciation for how she’s approached things.

Valentin speaks for the group, saying how much they enjoy being in the training room together, trying to make sure the flyweight champ knows they appreciate her approach.

PADDY MCCORRY FIGHT PREP

The Irish middleweight rolls into the UFC PI for training and speaks about the struggles he had with drinking in his early adulthood, with the gym and training serving as the thing that captured his focus and gave him a path.

Grasso explains why McCorry was her second pick, praising his striking, but also the way he’s able to control things on the canvas. She says that McCorry asked for the opportunity to fight Hulme as he smashes through a mitt session.

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His highlight reel runs with his win at Cage Warriors 153 against Angus Hewett. He explains his record is 4-1, with his only loss coming against former champ James Webb as he’s shown tapping out Samir Kadi in his most recent outing.

“I believe I am my best when my back is against the wall,” he says. “I’ve been an underdog my whole career; people haven’t really given me a chance in most of the fights I went into, and I’m constantly proving them wrong.

“I’m looking forward to doing it again this time.”

Grasso reiterates her confidence in McCorry while the Team Grasso man details his ideal way for the fight to play out, adding that he wants to be a positive impact on his little brother, breaking down into tears as he speaks about him.

“Growing up in Belfast, 90 percent of the people you know are either hooked on drugs or selling drugs,” he says as a picture of him with his mother, Joanne McCorry, and his brother, Raois Henderson, is shown. “I just know there are so many bad examples of role models in the area, and it became my No. 1 priority and goal to make sure my younger brother had a good role model to look up to.”

TUF HOUSE

Hulme and fellow South African Roets sit out back by the fire, speaking about Hulme’s path to where he is now as the middleweight details his journey in an interstitial interview.

“At 18, I moved to Johannesburg at a point — life just kind of became a tornado,” he says. “I was dealing with a lot of medical issues.”

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He explains that he had repeated injuries to his ankle and with the the constant issues weighting him down, he felt he needed some kind of change. His sister told him about Table Mountain in Cape Town, which is about 900 miles away from where he lived in Johannesburg, and Hulme decided to walk there.

He loaded up a pack, picked up some things around town, and walked from Johannesburg to Cape Town, walking 30 kilometres on the first day, sleeping next to the road many nights. His goal was to meet God on Table Mountain in Cape Town, and after 50 days, he reached his destination.

“I don’t think I could have done it in my own strength,” he says to Roets, who agrees that a higher power helped carry him there.

His home video from Pretoria rolls with a beautiful sunset, as Hulme shows everyone around his childhood home. He explains that he eventually came across cage fighting —“or MMA as we know it now,” he says — deciding that is what he wanted to do.

He rolls in the Team CIT facility, detailing how everything in his life is built around MMA so that he can make it to the top of the sport.

“I am the next Ultimate Fighter.”

MIDDLEWEIGHT WEIGH-IN

Hulme is up first on the scale, coming in at 184.5 pounds. McCorry follows suit, weighing in at 186 pounds, making the final fight of the quarterfinals official.

UFC CEO Dana White speaks about McCorry’s upside, despite his limited professional experience, contrasting that with Hulme being one of the more experienced competitors in the house.

TUF HOUSE

A bunch of the fighters sit in the backyard, soaking up the sun, with McCorry talking to Valentin about fight strategy.

“I have an absolutely superb eye for a finish,” McCorry says, reiterating that he has the skills to beat Hulme.

The South African shadowboxes in the backyard the following morning, while McCorry reads a passage from the Bible with his teammates.

FIGHT DAY

The middleweights descend upon the UFC APEX and it’s time for the final quarterfinal bout of the season.

Both men head to their respective locker rooms to get wrapped and loose, warming up with their coaches before getting set to press through the doors and step into the cage.

Paddy McCorry vs. Mark Hulme

Call him “Mystic McCorry” because the Irish middleweight’s assertion that he has an incredible eye for finishing came true in his clash with Hulme.

After the South African controlled the entirety of the fight with his grappling, McCorry took full advantage of Hulme leaving his neck available as they battled for position along the fence, clamping onto a high-elbow guillotine choke. When they hit the canvas, McCorry cranked the submission even tighter and forced Hulme to tap, punching his ticket to the semifinals.

Official Result: Paddy McCorry def. Mark Hulme by submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1

The coaches and White recap the fight, with Grasso explaining her charge did exactly as instructed in the grappling exchanges, staying calm, while Shevchenko points to Hulme rushing a little in the last attempt to shift positions, leading to his leaving his neck exposed.