Xavier Franklin wins TUF 34 bantamweight semifinal amid controversy

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 27: Xavier Franklin reacts after his victory over Micaias Urena in their bantamweight fight is during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter season 34 at Meta APEX on April 27, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Our The Ultimate Fighter 34 guest blogger Xavier Franklin finally got his chance to compete this week and while he walked away with a win, it wasn’t without some added drama. Franklin evened the score between coaches Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier at four wins apiece heading into the TUF 34 semifinals, finishing Micaias Urena with a last-second knockout punch at the conclusion of the opening round. Following the finish controversy arose, not due to the buzzer-beating strike, but rather because of a potentially illegal knee that landed just prior. Watch Franklin’s knockout win below. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! Xavier Franklin earns the TKO victory to take the final bantamweight semifinal spot on #TUF34! STREAM NOW on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/XX45oXN15I — The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) July 29, 2026 Here’s how Franklin recalled the moment. Xavier: It was insane. So the knee, when he was falling, I actually tried to frame and lift him up. I was going to try to knee him in the head, but I couldn’t. So when I framed and lifted him, I kneed him in the chest. Fast forward, I talked to Micaias about it. He said, “I knew you didn’t knee me in the head. I felt you knee me in the chest. But after you punched me and knocked me out, I just laid there to try to play it off so I could try to get the win by DQ.” And I was like, “OK.” On the episode, Urena’s coach Cormier was seen loudly protesting the knee. With the benefit of replay, viewers could clearly see it connected closer to Urena’s chest and shoulder and nowhere near the fighter’s head. In an odd moment, despite Cormier having the chance to review the footage alongside UFC CEO Dana White, who suggested Cormier “might be mentally ill” after he continued to call the strike illegal, the former two-division champion continued to make a scene (Cormier later admitted in a post-show clip that the knee was legal). “You might be mentally ill” – @DanaWhite @DC_MMA reacts to Xavier Franklin’s TKO victory on #TUF34! STREAM NOW on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/V4n6khjHYS — The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) July 29, 2026 According to Franklin, what we saw on screen was just a glimpse of the chaotic scene that ensued. Xavier: D.C. was going crazy. There were so many people in the ring, it was getting crazy. Some of the people in the stands, some of the Russian guys were trying to come in the ring and shit because I was talking shit. It got really crazy, honestly, people surrounded Dana. Dana’s like, “What the f*ck is going on?” Event though Franklin and Team Bisping were confident that there was no wrongdoing, there was some concern over how long it was taking to make a decision as to whether the bout would continue or not. Given Urena’s compromised state, it seemed unlikely. Xavier: [Urena] was just laying there, and then he got up and started moving, they’re looking at him, and they’re like, “Well, you may have to go to a second round,” and I’m just like, “OK.” Then Bisping was like, “How are you going to go to a second round? He’s literally unconscious.” The doctor’s in here helping him, looking at him, and then you’re gonna go to us—like, like what’s going on? If you call a fight, the ref said, “That’s it.” If the person’s unconscious on the floor, how are you going to make them wake back up and be like, “Oh yeah, you’re fighting again. It was a legal knee, you just got caught. The fight starts again.” Whenever they said the fight was over, that’s why I ran over to them and started talking crazy, because they were talking crazy to me. When the fight was officially waved off, Franklin immediately climbed the cage and directed a few choice words at Team Cormier. What viewers didn’t see on the show was the pre-fight chatter between Franklin and Cormier’s coaching staff, which provided the bantamweight contestant with extra motivation. Xavier: I was just pretty much telling them like, “You’re talking all this shit, you don’t have to fight me. He has to fight me. So for you to say all this shit, he’s gonna have to pay for this shit. So when I knock his ass out cold, I want you to still talk that same shit.” And then when I knocked him out, they looked like they seen a ghost. Franklin has had plenty of camera time on the show and often stressed to his housemates the importance of showing their personalities. However, that doesn’t mean he went out of his way to manufacture storylines. That’s one reason why he didn’t appreciate Urena stepping to him in the kitchen ahead of their fight, having previously gotten along well with his upcoming opponent. Xavier: Earlier in the day, me and Micaias were having a real serious one-on-one conversation, he’s telling me about his dad, his country, all these things, pretty much telling me his life story. I would say having a heart to heart, and I’m like, “Yeah, bro, hopefully, God willing, we all going to go to the UFC. We all going to get in, regardless of the result, whether you win, I win, I hope we all get in the UFC. I feel like everybody in here, you know, is talented enough to get in the UFC.” And then fast forward, the kitchen shit happens. He starts like doing this shit and I’m like, “What?” You were just being nice and saying all this shit, now you’re trying to talk shit to me. I was in the pantry, trying to get food because we’re making lunch, and then he comes in there and he’s like, “Bro, you’ve got to do more, we’ve got to try to put on a show,” all this, and I’m like, “We don’t need to put on a show. You coming in here and doing this is going to let the fans know you’re trying to start something with me, that is not authentic. If something’s going to happen, let it authentically happen. I’m not the type of guy to try to act. I’m a fighter, I’m not an actor, even though I’m on a reality TV show, I’m not an actor, I’m a fighter. Bisping drama after he left to go do UFC Perth in May, stuff happened while he was gone (still to come on the show?) Xavier wanted to fight Christian and that way they would guarantee a U.S. vs. Kyrgyzstan or Azerbaijan matchup With Franklin’s win over Urena, that left Team Bisping and Team Cormier with four fighters each remaining in the tournament: Three bantamweights and one strawweight for Bisping, and three strawweights and one bantamweight for Cormier. Team Bisping Xavier Franklin Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu Mehemmedeli Osmanli GiGi Canuto Team Cormier Melissa Amaya Delphine Benouaich Tina Black Christian Strong When it came time to discuss potential semifinal matchups, Franklin made two things clear: 1) He wanted to fight Strong, who he’d been targeting since the teams were selected and 2) He did not want to fight Akylbek Uulu, who he’d formed a close bond with in the house. Suffice to say, his conversation with the coaches didn’t go as he’d hoped. Xavier: They were like, do you want to fight Ilimbek? I was like, “That’s the only one I won’t fight is Ilimbek, because I was like, Ilimbek’s my friend. Ali [Osmanli] is my friend, too, I’m cool with Ali. I talked to Ali and Ilimbek, both of them. … But me and “Bek,” we like bonded like in a different way. I can’t explain it. He’s like my little brother, literally. I knew they were gonna do some bullshit. I was telling [teammate] Marlon [Jones], “This is reality TV. I know they don’t like when people are friends in the fight business, they always like friends fighting. So if they want to be sick, they’re going to make me fight Ilimbek. That’s just some sick reality TV shit that people love. Sure enough, Franklin and Akylbek Uulu were set to square off with Osmanli getting the task of eliminating Strong, Cormier’s last bantamweight. On the strawweight side, Team Cormier teammates Benouaich and Black were paired up, while Amaya faces Team Bisping’s Canuto. Despite all the drama, Franklin was relieved to see his quarterfinal fight air as he could finally reveal to friends and family that he advanced to the next round. He’s also had to deal with some backlash from the controversial finish and he hasn’t shied away from responding to a few social media trolls, some of whom were just disappointed fans from Urena’s native Dominican Republic. Xavier: My week’s been pretty good, it’s been pretty crazy. My phone is insanely blown up, I had to turn off my notifications. It’s getting ridiculous, but I like responding to some of the trolls just because like, this is all they do. Let me just play with them a little bit, you know what I mean? The Dominicans hate me right now. I said, “Why are you hating on me, man?” They’re like, “You’re talking trash.” I’m like, “Micaias was talking more shit to me than I was talking to him, but you’re saying I’m the only one talking shit.” I get it. I beat your fellow countrymen. You can be upset, but come on, you’re a fan, too. You’re a fan. Next week, the first strawweight finalist is determined as Team Cormier’s Melissa Amaya takes on Team Bisping’s GiGi Canuto. The Ultimate Fighter 34 streams exclusively on Paramount+ with new episodes every Tuesday. Unlike most editions of TUF, coaches Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier will not fight at the conclusion of the season, as both are long retired. The finalists of the TUF 34 bantamweight and strawweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract in the show’s live finale fights. A date for those bouts is yet to be announced. See The Ultimate Fighter 34 teams below. Team Bisping Bantamweights Xavier Franklin (6-1-1, 1 NC), U.S. Mehemmedeli Osmanli (11-1), Azerbaijan Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (9-3), Kyrgyzstan Marlon Jones (5-0), U.K. Strawweights Anna Melisano (6-1), U.S. GiGi Canuto (7-1), Brazil Mackenzie Stiller (6-1), U.S. Natalia Alves (8-0), Brazil Team Cormier Bantamweights Artem Belakh (11-2), Kazakhstan Micaias Urena (12-4), Dominican Republic Sean Mora (7-1), Cuba Christian Strong (9-1), U.S. Strawweights Tina Black (15-4, 1 NC), Brazil Delphine Benouaich (7-2), France Melissa Amaya (8-0), U.S. Anita Karim (6-2), Pakistan Semifinal matchups: Bantamweight Mehemmedeli Osmanli vs. Christian Strong Xavier Franklin vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu Strawweight Melissa Amaya vs. GiGi Canuto Delphine Benouaich vs. Tina Black Here are the quarterfinal results: Melissa Amaya def. Anna Melisano via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1) Christian Strong def. Marlon Jones via decision GiGi Canuto def. Anita Karim via TKO (strikes) (R1) Mehemmedeli Osmanli def. Artem Belakh via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1) Tina Black def. Natalia Alves via TKO (strikes) (R2) Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu def. Sean Mora via decision Delphine Benouaich def. Mackenzie Stiller via decision Xavier Franklin def. Micaias Urena via TKO (strikes) (R1) Advancing to semifinals: Amaya, Strong, Canuto, Osmanli, Black, Akylbek Uulu, Benouaich, Franklin Eliminated: Melisano, Jones, Karim, Belakh, Alves, Mora, Stiller, Urena Xavier Franklin is a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 34 and a guest contributor to MMA Fighting. He also served as Michael Bisping’s unofficial English accent translator on the show.

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Xavier Franklin caused a stir with his TUF 34 win