UFC Roster Watch, an automated service that monitors the promotion’s fighter database, first noted Trinaldo’s removal on Wednesday. A later report by MMA Fighting subsequently clarified that Trinaldo’s October fight against Randy Brown had been the final bout on his contract with the UFC.

The fighter has not been re-signed, exiting the company after 26 appearances inside the octagon.

Best known as a lightweight, the Brazilian, now 44-years old, joined the UFC in 2012 after appearing on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Fighting as a middleweight, Trinaldo won his first TUF bout, and was eliminated in his second, but joined the UFC nonetheless, immediately dropping to lightweight.

From 2014 to 2016, Trinaldo embarked on an impressive seven-fight win streak that saw him earn a victory over fan-favorite Paul Felder. Among the former Jungle Fights champion’s highlights, he also holds wins over Jim Miller, Ross Pearson, Chad Laprise, and Bobby Green.

Both Pearson and Laprise are former Ultimate Fighter winners.

In 2021, Trinaldo made the move up to the welterweight division, posting a 2-2 record in a run that ended with the loss to Brown.

Francisco Trinaldo finishes his UFC tenure with a record of 18-8. He has yet to comment on what his future holds.

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With the event being behind closed doors, and only one specific very special guest being in attendance, the atmosphere throughout the week has been a strange and unique one at that. In hindsight, the event played out to be one that certainly deserved a live crowd.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for the losers of the night.

Mackenzie Dern

Coming into the weekend, Jiu-Jitsu specialist Mackenzie Dern occupied rank #5 of the strawweight division, while her opponent, Yan Xiaonan sat just one place below her. The consensus was that if Dern could manage to get the fight to the mat, which is something she struggles with quite often despite being a jiu-jitsu specialist, then she could control the fight in any way she wanted. Things didn’t go her way though. On a side note, over 10 UFC fights, Dern has only managed to accumulate a takedown percentage of just 11%.

The fight began with Yan being able to fight her own fight, using counter striking to maximum advantage. In a fight of polar opposite styles, this was key to how the rest of the fight played out. Midway through round two, Dern managed to unconventionally get the fight where she wanted it. Despite over a full minute of relenting ground-and-pound with some submission attempts sprinkled in, Xiaonan survived and got herself through the rest of the fight, winning a majority decision.

There is no denying that Mackenzie Dern is a world class talent, and being on the right side of 30, she still has time to fix some holes in her game. A camp where she focuses on her wrestling entries and figures out ways to get the fight to where she’s most dangerous is now imperative.

I’d like to see Dern fight the winner of the upcoming bout between Hill and Ducote.

Dern’s Next Fight: Winner of Angela Hill vs Emily Ducote

Francisco Trinaldo

The ever aging Trinaldo stepped into the Octagon for the second time this year, as he took on Randy Brown. The fight went the way a lot of people expected, but Trinaldo stayed in the fight throughout. There were definitely times in the fight where Trinaldo looked dangerous, but never did he look to be close to getting Brown out of there.

After being in the promotion for 10 years now, and accumulating 26 fights, maybe it’s time for Trinaldo to think about his future in the sport. Having said that, as previously mentioned, Trinaldo still shows signs of being a dangerous fighter, and one that cannot be deterred.

A fun fight that could roll back the years is Trinaldo vs Matt Brown, and that would ultimately guarantee fireworks.

Trinaldo’s Next Fight: Matt Brown

Trevin Jones

There is no shame losing to Raoni Barcelos. The Brazilian exemplified how well rounded of a mixed martial artist he is, and unfortunately for Jones, he was the one on the receiving end of the complete performance.

With that being Jones’ third loss on the bounce, things are starting to get a bit nervy for the Guam native. Someone who shares a common ground with Jones is Tony Gravely. Both bantamweights have been defeated by Javid Basharat and both are looking to bounce back from their recent losses with a win. Why not match them up together to really see where they’re both at?

Jones’ Next Fight: Tony Gravely 

Don Shainis

Let’s have it right, there are far easier opponents to make your UFC debut against than Sodiq Yusuff. “Super” Sodiq saw his scheduled bout with Giga Chikadze fall through last week, and then subsequently struggled to find a late notice opponent for this card.

Up stepped “Shameless” Shainis, Cage Titans featherweight champion. What proceeded was nothing more than people expected. Shainis found himself locked into a deep guillotine after just 30 seconds of the opening bell, and couldn’t take anymore, with his UFC debut not going to plan — not surprisingly given it being on extremely late notice.

Another fighter who recently made his UFC debut with that also not going to plan is Jarno Errens. Have the two fight each other on a smaller UFC Fight Night card with the winner sticking around to fight another day, and the loser going back to the regional shows to further work on their craft.

Shainis’ Next Fight: Jarno Errens 

Viacheslav Borshchev

Once again, the Russian found himself being out-wrestled for 15 minutes of a fight, highlighting the serious hole in his game that he needs to work on to be able to improve. In his four fights under the UFC banner, his opponents have all managed to score a takedown percentage of at least 60%, with Davis putting a 81% TD accuracy on the board this fight, only failing on two takedowns.

Borshchev has shown in his four UFC fights that he is a skilful opponent on the feet, however, as soon as his opponent shows some sort of poise in the grappling department, he crumbles. As a small consolation, Doug Crosby was the only one of three judges that deemed Borshchev to have won one round, scoring the second round in his favour.

The Canadian, Kyle Nelson, is a lightweight who no matter his opponent, he is going to come in and stand and bang. A fight between the two lightweights looking to taste victory again could be extremely exciting.

Borshchev’s Next Fight: Kyle Nelson 

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 61 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Both men entered on modest win streaks, Trinaldo having won two straight, and Brown three.

Round 1 Brown worked jabs and front kicks to keep Trinaldo at bay. A straight right hand dropped Trinaldo, but Brown did not follow up as he wanted to force Trinaldo to stand. Near the end of the round Trinaldo go in on a takedown that would have worked had it not been for a blatant fence grab by Brown. No points were taken from Brown for it.

Round 2 was all Brown working the distance and high kicks. Side kicks to the lead knee were effective. Trinaldo did have a couple of flurries once he got inside, but nothing came of it.

Round 3 Brown continued to land from range, but Trinaldo was more aggressive feeling that he was likely down two rounds. He tried to land the head kick as his corners felt Brown was leaning one way, but was unable to. Trinaldo finally got Brown to the ground where he wanted him and he tried to land damage and finish the fight, but Brown was able to defend himself and survive the round.

Official Result: Randy Brown def. Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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The hard-fought win came after a back and forth bout with Roberts. Trinaldo went into it with a mission to get a badly-needed win.

“I needed a win. I really needed to have a hard fight and I really needed to win. I did what I needed to do. I just really want to be back now with my family, with my kids, with my family and everybody that I love, and prepare for the next one,” Trinaldo said through a translator.

Trinaldo was able to hurt Roberts early, but the latter survived and even came back at Trinaldo.

“My strategy from the beginning was to not clinch up with him. To not touch him at all, to stay outside, use my boxing, and kick him a lot in the legs. However, I sustained an injury on my left shin which kept me from kicking so I had to adapt and just tried to box. My goal was, I really wanted a finish. I really wanted a knockout, but with my kicks taken away I really had to rely on my boxing. I got the victory that way,” Trinaldo said.

At 43-years-old how much longer can Trinaldo keep this up?

“I tell my coaches I stopped aging at 33. So as long as my coaches are willing to put up with me, and get me through hard training camps, I’m here to fight. Like I said, I don’t look at my age, I tell everybody I stopped aging at 33. I feel great. So as long as my coaches are willing to put in the work, I’m here to fight.”

Watch the full UFC 274 post-fight press conference appearance by Francisco Trinaldo above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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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)

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Promotion officials announced on Saturday that Brazil’s Francisco Trinaldo (27-8), 43 years young, will take on Danny Roberts (18-5) at the event on May 7, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CauRuPDLh4s

Trinaldo last competed in October, winning a split decision against Dwight Grant. The oldest fight in the welterweight division arrived there just last year, and has posted a 1-1 record thus far. Prior to that, Trinaldo spent the entirety of his career with the UFC as a lightweight, starting with the promotion in 2012, shortly after claiming the Jungle Fight lightweight title in his native Brazil.

During his lengthy stint with the UFC, Trinaldo has picked up wins over the likes of Paul Felder, Bobby Green, and Jim Miller. He also scored victories against Ultimate Fighter winners Norman Parke, Chad Laprise, and Ross Pearson, in back-to-back-to-back fights.

Roberts, a fair bit younger than his opponent at 34, joined the promotion in 2015 and has put together a 7-4 record through eleven fights. He’ll enter the bout on a two fight win streak, most recently claiming a split decision against Ramazan Emeev.

UFC 274 is expected to take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 7, 2022. The following bouts have been reported for the card thus far:

• Charles Oliveira (c) vs. Justin Gaethje – for the UFC lightweight championship
• Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont
• Ariane Carnelossi vs. Lupita Godinez
• Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima
• C.J. Vergara vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
• Joe Lauzon vs. Donald Cerrone
• Journey Newson vs. Fernie Garcia
• Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell
• Shogun Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux
• Michael Johnson vs. Alan Patrick
• Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Ribas
• Francisco Trinaldo vs. Danny Roberts

The post Francisco Trinaldo vs. Danny Roberts Announced for UFC 274 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Marvin Vettori

Previously known mainly as a hot-head who refused to accept his losses to Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori’s image underwent something of a makeover ahead of UFC Vegas 41. By loudly proclaiming he’d take the fight with Paulo Costa at any weight, then backing up those words as the fight moved first to a 195lb catchweight, then to 205lbs, Vettori picked up a win both in and outside of the octagon.

Since his opponent was also a former middleweight title challenger, and given it’s clear Vettori can make 185, there’s no reason not to count this win as anything but extremely significant. “The Italian Dream” has now appeared in four straight main events, and won three of them. His only losses in years have come to Adesanya.

That, however, is the problem. A third fight against Izzy is a hard sell, even coming off a win over Costa. Vettori will need at least a few more before he gets another shot at gold, unless Robert Whittaker topples “The Last Stylebender” in a fight expected early next year.

With Vettori ranked #5, coming off a win over Costa and with Whittaker-Izzy and Jared Cannonier-Derek Brunson set, there’s only one play for the Italian. Sean Strickland was supposed to face Luke Rockhold at UFC 268 in just two week’s time. Rockhold was forced out due to a herniated disc. Vettori probably can’t make the date, but pair him up with Strickland and push it back to an amicable time frame.

Vettori’s next fight: Sean Strickland

Jessica-Rose Clark

After a year on the shelf due to an ACL injury, Jessica-Rose Clark returned to action at UFC Vegas 41 and secured a decision win over Joselyne Edwards. The fight wasn’t a thriller, but it gives Clark two straight wins in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Clark is now 2-1 there overall, and Jessy Jess is a popular figure in a thin weight class.

That, however, is no reason to rush her development. Building her back up slowly after a significant injury is the right play. Stephanie Egger is coming off a recent win, and the timing works. Book it, and if Clark puts on a strong showing, then give her a step up and see if she can make a run to the top.

Clark’s next fight: Stephanie Egger

Alex Caceres

There was a time where it felt like Alex Caceres would never live up to his true potential in the UFC. Suddenly, that feels like a distant memory, as “Bruce Leeroy” is sitting on a five-fight win streak, with submission finishes in two of his last three bouts.

Caceres’ recent run has been remarkable. He’s looked comfortable. But we’re going to go a little left field on this one. Doo-Ho Choi, like Caceres, had some early hype, starting his UFC run strong. He’s since fallen on hard times, losing three straight, including the 2016 ESPN Fight of the Year against Cub Swanson. On opposite trajectories, Choi either gets back on track against a fighter with a full head of steam, or Caceres earns a win over someone who still has considerable name value.

Caceres’ next fight: Doo-Ho Choi

Francisco Trinaldo

At 43, Francisco Trinaldo is one of the UFC’s winningest “old guys,” and he picked up a spit decision victory against Dwight Grant over the weekend. Now 4-1 in his last five, going back to his lightweight days, it’s time to see if the veteran will sink or swim at welterweight.

Max Griffin sits on a three-fight win streak, and is always a game opponent. Throw them together for a fun fight.

Trinaldo’s next opponent: Max Griffin

Nicolae Negumereanu

While his win came with a bit of controversy due to strikes to the back of the head, Nicolae Negumereanu earned his second straight victory inside the octagon against Ike Villanueva at UFC Vegas 41.

Like Negumereanu, Tafon Nchukwi is 2-1 in the promotion, coming off a win, and last competed back in September. This one doesn’t go the distance.

Negumereanu’s next fight: Tafon Nchukwi

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At 43 years young, Francisco Trinaldo was one of the UFC’s elder statesmen. Saturday at UFC Vegas 41, he was paired up with a man five years his junior in Dwight Grant — but it was the experience difference that was arguably a bigger factor than age.

For Trinaldo, who recently had a three-fight win streak snapped, Saturday marked pro fight #35. Grant, meanwhile, had fought in just 14 fights prior to UFC Vegas 41.

Grant came out early looking for the right hand, and he briefly wobbled Trinaldo coming with a straight right in the opening minute. However, over the course of the round, Trinaldo began walking down Grant and began landing counters. He was patient and soon found a home for the overhand left, one of which wobbled Grant on the counter. As the round went on it seemed Trinaldo had found his groove heading into round two.

Round two saw Grant find some success early, as he hurt Trinaldo as he went for a head kick, and Grant got a massive takedown off of the right hand. Grant was able to land some nice ground and pound but Trinaldo managed to survive. Trinaldo was able to have some success near the end of the round but heading into round three it seemed to be anyone’s fight.

A change in momentum in the 2nd!

[ #UFCVegas41 live on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/pVAEa7NtfW

— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021

Round three saw Trinaldo open up with a fantastic combination, the only issue was that by “combination,” it was back-to-back eye pokes. Trinaldo poked Grant, and after a break poked him ruthlessly again, prompting a point to be taken from Trinaldo. Trinaldo came out of the second break firing away and got a quick takedown and moved to half guard. Trinaldo landed some ground and pound before making his way to mount. The Brazilian was able to land a big flurry from mount to close out the bout, but it was too little, too late to actually get the finish.

Regardless, Trinaldo did pick up the split decision win, improving to 4-1 in his last five fights.

Official Result: Francisco Trinaldo def. Dwight Grant by split decision (29-27, 27-29, 29-27)

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Trinaldo, with the fountain of youth apparently in his grasp, was at age 42, moving up to welterweight for the first time at the event. That, after missing weight in his last outing — though still capturing the win, his third straight. Salikhov, at 36, had won four straight since his octagon debut and had the advantage of having competed as a welterweight for years.

Both fighters swung and missed early in this one, then Trinaldo landed a nice body kick. Salikhov threw his first spinning kick but missed. Salikhov landed a heavy kick and a head kick that was partially blocked. He landed a front kick a short time after, but Trinaldo marched forward. Trinaldo barely missed a heavy right hook. Less than 90 seconds remaining in the round, and Trinaldo landed a right hand that got Salikhov’s attention. After a wild flurry in the final 30 seconds, Salikhov landed an uppercut that dropped Trinaldo. Salikhov pounced and started throwing ground and pound; Trinaldo ate all of them. The round ends with Salikhov being grabbed by Trinaldo.

Trinaldo started round two as if the last portion of round one never happened by walking down Salikhov. With one minute in the bag, both fighters landed combos. Trinaldo landed a left hand, and Salikhov answered back with a heavy punch. Salikhov landed a right hand that hurt Trianaldo and wobbled him. Salikhov didn’t rush him; instead, he fired a high kick. Trinaldo got his wits back and started firing back. Trinaldo landed a punch himself that really backed Salikhov up. Salikhov hit Trinaldo with a teep kick, but the Brazilian showed no emotion as the round ended with both feinting.

Round three started with an eye poke which halted the action just as it was getting going. Salikhov is fine, and the fight continued. Trinaldo landed a left hand on the side that Salikhov had been  poked in— followed by a high kick. Salikhov started for a takedown, but Trinaldo stuffed it. Trinaldo clinched with Salikhov against the fence but nothing. Trinaldo was dropped, and after a few kicks on the ground, the referee stood him up. Salikhov threw two spinning kicks within 15 seconds, but missed both. Salikhov wobbled Trianaldo with a 1-2, but Trinaldo kept coming forward. Salikhov landed a takedown with 45 seconds left to seal the victory, most likely. The fight ended with Salikhov on top.

Official Result: Muslim Salikhov def. Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Unfortunately, Francisco Trinaldo extending his win streak to three with a knockout over top European prospect Jai Herbert was overshadowed by a controversial referee stoppage at UFC Fight Island 3. Trinaldo knocked Herbert stiff with an overhand in the third round, but had to deliver a few more punches to secure the victory despite the lack of movement from Herbert.

Trinaldo did not want to follow-up on the initial knockdown, but Herb Dean let the fight continue. The Brazilian veteran gave his perspective on the situation.

“I could see that he was knocked out when he fell,” Trinaldo said. “I kind of went in and stopped. Then when Herb Dean didn’t intervene, I went there just to finish it but I think everyone saw that he was knocked out.”

The fact that Trinaldo has been such a force for a long time is a testament to his health. He’s now won 12 of his last 15 fights into his forties. He shared his tips for a long career.

“I think that the first secret is to get rest,” Trinaldo said. “Good nutrition, eating healthy. I think that’s really what makes a difference. There’s a few other secrets but I only pass that on to teammates.”

Now the next part of his career will take place up a weight class. Trinaldo missed weight by four pounds at UFC Fight Island 3 and will move to welterweight as a result. He’s ready for the transition.

“I think I’m gonna be more alive at 170,” Trinaldo said. “I’m gonna be able to train harder. Now this last week, I just focus on cutting weight. So I think I’ll be able to train until the end. I want to go ahead and call out Diego Sanchez. He’s a veteran of the sport like me.”

Sanchez is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Jai Herbert when it comes to career longevity, and Trinaldo wants more opponents like Sanchez in the future.

“I’d rather fight the veterans like I am, but I’m always open to any fight,” Trinaldo said. “Nobody wanted to fight this guy coming in and I faced him. I said I was gonna give him a warm welcome into the UFC and that’s exactly what I did.”

Trinaldo added that he expects to be in the UFC for much longer due to the move up to 170. He already called out Donald Cerrone and Mike Perry, so we’ll see what the next step is for Massaranduba.

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