UFC 281 found The Ultimate Fighter 27 winner Michael Trizano looking to pull out of a tailspin, having lost two straight and three of his last four. In New York City on Saturday night, Big Apple native Trizano was paired up with South Korean Seung Woo Choi, who had likewise dropped back-to-back contests.
A double knockdown got the crowd to its feet early in Trizano vs. Choi, and the pace didn’t let up from there. They both made it back up, but Choi would wind up dropped again! The pair next came together in a clinch, knees and elbows fired. Somehow Choi had recovered, and even managed to fire a head kick that was blocked. A right hand by Choi hit the mark. He tagged Trizano again late, and surged forward throwing wildly! They tied up, with a full 90 seconds still to go in the round.
In the end, they wouldn’t need more than a round to finish things up. Instead, Trizano dropped Choi once more in the dying seconds of the round. He piled on with ground n’ pound to put the fight away with less than 10 seconds remaining! A huge, badly needed victory for the TUF winner, in his own back yard in New York City!
WHAT👏 A👏 FIGHT👏 @TheLoneWolfMMA Gets the finish in round 1!#UFC281 pic.twitter.com/vEt21a6gBt
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2022
“I was not going to be denied,” Trizano exclaimed following the fight. The only damper on the affair was Trizano missing weight, leaving him ineligible for a post-fight bonus.
Official Result: Michael Trizano def. Seung Woo Choi by TKO, Round 1, 4:51
