Francisco Trinaldo is the second oldest fighter in the UFC, but you wouldn’t know it. He defeated Danny Roberts by unanimous decision to cap off the UFC 274 prelims.
Something of an ageless wonder at this point, 43-year old Francisco Trinaldo returned to action at UFC 274, paired up with Danny Roberts — just about a decade younger than the Brazilian.
Trinaldo was looking to make it two in a row on Saturday night; Roberts was looking for his third consecutive win in the welterweight affair.
Right away, Roberts threw a head kick and fell backwards. Trinaldo took advantage by landing a hook on Roberts’ way up and clinching briefly, nailing his opponent with an uppercut. Roberts flared out a jab and connected with a leg kick. Roberts threw out a combination capped off by a head kick but could not connect cleanly. A naked left hook snuck by the guard of Roberts as Trinaldo continued moving forward, connecting with two more left hands. Roberts fired a combination to keep Trinaldo at bay. A big left hand found the mark for Trinaldo then a combination. More and more left hooks continued to land for Trinaldo, who capped off a strong first round with a short right.
Right at the start of the second round, a strong right jab from Trinaldo rocked Roberts. Trinaldo followed him to the clinch, giving Roberts a chance to survive. Trinaldo eventually seperated, rocked Roberts again, then tried a standing guillotine. Roberts fought through it but was taken down in the process. He then defended an arm triangle choke and was able to stand up with 15 seconds left in the round. Roberts let his hands go, connecting with a pair of hard hooks. Trinaldo responded and they swung to the bell.
They picked up where they left off in the final round, with Roberts throwing a flying knee that led to an exchange along the fence. Roberts punched his way into a clinch but did nothing with it and they returned to the center of the cage. Roberts had a head kick deflected, then ate a hard left hook that rocked him once again. Like the second round, Trinaldo clinched and Roberts stayed standing. Roberts was still not 100%, but landed a good shot while eating an uppercut. Trinaldo hung onto him to not give Roberts a chance at a miracle.
Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
