Francisco Trinaldo: A veteran’s journey through three weight divisions.
MMA is the story of a man who never gave up, Francis ‘Massaranduba’ Trinaldo, and faced many challenges on his way to success. While many fighters struggle to remain relevant in one weight division throughout their careers, Trinaldo has defied the odds by successfully competing in three different weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight. His tenure in the UFC, which has been over a decade, proves his versatility in the changing world of MMA. Trinaldo is one of the most prominent Brazilian fighters who started his career in a small town called Amarante and now is a UFC veteran. Trinaldo is well known for his striking, grappling, and fight intelligence; he continued being a force in different divisions and defeated some of the best fighters around. That he is still going strong despite being on the wrong side of 45 years is a clear indication of his talent and hard work. This article will look at the life and career of the veteran across three weight classes, his background, his foray into mixed martial arts, significant bouts, and the motivation for moving up and down the scales. Furthermore, we will also discuss why Trinaldo has been such a tough nut to crack and what’s in the pipeline for this Brazilian warrior. Early Life and Beginning of His Career in Mixed Martial Arts Francisco Trinaldo was born on the 24th of August in 1978 in Amarante, Brazil, and therefore, he was brought up with the hardships of a small town upbringing. Like many Brazilian fighters, he got into combat sports through the martial arts tradition that is prevalent in Brazil. Brazil has always been famous for churning out champions in various combat sports, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai; it did not take Trinaldo long to gravitate towards these styles. But that was not the beginning of Trinaldo and his exposure to the world of martial arts. He has been jobless since his childhood and has been working in different jobs in construction and farming to feed his family. He only started training in Muay Thai at the age of twenty-something and later advanced to Mixed Martial Arts. In the case of many fighters, the beginning of their career at the age of 19 or 20 is viewed as a relatively late start; however, this did not stop Trinaldo. He soon signed into the growing Brazilian MMA scene and established himself as a strong and hard hitter. Before joining the big leagues, he fought in regional MMA organizations, and over time, he evolved into a well-rounded fighter. Trinaldo always had the athletic ability and drive to succeed, and it did not take him long to receive attention from bigger promotions. Entering the UFC: Lightweight Dominance Francisco Trinaldo’s breakout moment came in 2012 when he appeared on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, a talent show aimed at finding fresh new fighters for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Trinaldo competed in the middleweight bout during the show and was as usual—tough and aggressive with his punches. Despite not winning the tournament, his displays made him a UFC fighter for more than a decade. First, Trinaldo fought in the lightweight division (155 lbs), where he became one of the toughest and most durable fighters of the division. His first fight for the UFC organization was in June 2012 at UFC 147, where he defeated Delson Heleno by TKO in the first round. This win proved to be the blueprint for his UFC run, as he made a name for himself as a man who could knock out his opponents. In his run at lightweight, Trinaldo has amassed a solid skill set and has won over the likes of Paul Felder, Yancy Medeiros, and Jim Miller. Especially, the victory over Felder in 2016 was a key moment, as at that time Felder was regarded as one of the promising fighters of the division. Trinaldo was able to secure the victory via unanimous decision, which proved his endurance when competing against other top fighters. Initially, Trinaldo was a versatile fighter in the lightweight division. His stand-up was his forte, and specifically his Muay Thai, but he was no slouch on the ground either. His Brazilian jiu-jitsu was just as effective as his punching and kicking, and he was hard to put on the ground, let alone keep down if the fight went to the mat. Nevertheless, the decision to move down to lightweight started to affect the experienced fighter. The Weight Cut Struggles: Transitioning to Welterweight It seems that as Francisco Trinaldo grew older, a reduction to 155 pounds was not an easy thing to achieve. The weight management is perhaps the most rigorous task in MMA and becomes very tasking for the elder fighters as their bodies are not as receptive to the rigorous diet and dehydration as when they were young. The cut to lightweight was tough for Trinaldo, and it started to reflect on his fight in the octagon. Nevertheless, he has had a very good run in the division, with a seven-fight win streak between 2014 and 2016. Trinaldo realized that it was time to think about a weight class jump. He competed in the welterweight category (170 pounds) after officially moving there in 2020 when he was 42 years old. Trinaldo had no other option but to move to the welterweight division. He would be fighting bigger men, but he would not have to go through the torturous process of losing weight, which was always a disadvantage to his fighting condition. For welterweight, Trinaldo thought that he could still have the advantages of power and stamina fighting in the lightweight division but is lighter. His welterweight debut came against Jai Herbert at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till fight in July 2020. However, Herbert was a bright prospect, while Trinaldo demonstrated his ring experience and knockout punch to decide the fight in the third round. This victory also showed that even when moving up in weight, Trinaldo was
