Osmanli outsmarts exhausted Belakh to level TUF 34 series at 2-2

Mehemmedeli Osmanli delivered a first-round submission of Artem Belakh on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter 34, drawing Team Bisping level with Team Cormier at 2-2 on the season. Belakh, Team Cormier’s No. 1 pick, entered the bantamweight contest visibly compromised by a gruelling weight cut that cast member Xavier Franklin says had been obvious since the fighters first arrived in Las Vegas.

Franklin, who has been documenting the season from inside the house, recalled spotting Belakh in a full sauna suit during the opening week at the hotel — well before the fighters had even moved in together. “I’ve seen him in a full sauna suit every day,” Franklin said. “At that moment I knew, I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s super heavy.’” Franklin added that Belakh’s mood and eating habits inside the house only reinforced the concern.

Osmanli, known within the cast as ‘Ali’, had done his own homework. According to Franklin, Osmanli mapped out exactly how the fight would unfold. “He said, ‘I’m just going to overwhelm him. Pressure him. Make him do too much and then he’s gonna get tired, I’m going to hit him to the body and then I’ll finish him,’” Franklin recalled. “And that’s what he did.”

Coach Daniel Cormier was visibly frustrated during the bout, questioning aloud why Belakh — a recognised striking specialist — was defaulting almost entirely to wrestling. The answer, at least according to Team Bisping’s camp, was simple: a fighter who has cut too much weight rarely performs to type.

The post-fight atmosphere was tense. Belakh showed little interest in any show of respect from Osmanli, though Franklin framed it as routine post-fight friction rather than a deeper personal conflict. The real animosity, he suggested, runs along team lines and has been building throughout the season. Team Cormier’s fighters and coaches, Franklin said, have been consistently antagonistic whenever the two groups cross paths — with Osmanli drawing particular attention from the opposing camp.

“Team Cormier had been messing with us every day,” Franklin said. “Every time they’ve seen us, they were always talking shit. At first we were just like, yeah, whatever, but then after a while it gets annoying because we see each other every day.”

With the series now tied at two wins apiece, the rivalry between Bisping and Cormier — two former UFC champions with a well-documented history — appears to be shaping the atmosphere inside the house as much as it does on fight night.