43 & still going strong đź’Ş
[ @MassarandubaMMA
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#UFC274 ] pic.twitter.com/k25S4gi6nV— UFC (@ufc)
May 8, 2022
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Even at 43 years old, Francisco
Trinaldo still has plenty left in the tank.
The Brazilian veteran improved to 2-1 at 170 pounds, defeating
Danny
Roberts via unanimous decision in a preliminary welterweight
bout at UFC
274 at Footprint Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday night.
All three judges submitted tallies in favor of the Evolucao Thai
export: 29-28, 30-26, and 30-27. “Massaranduba” has won five of his
last six appearances within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
Roberts had some success with rangy kickboxing techniques in the
opening stanza, but he couldn’t match his opponent’s power in the
long run. Trinaldo put “Hot Chocolate” on skates with a short right
early in Round 2, and doubled him over with a body shot against the
fence before spending much of the period in top position. Roberts
(18-6, 7-5 UFC) brawled willingly with Trinaldo (28-8, 18-7 UFC) in
the final frame only to be put on wobbly legs once again thanks to
a left hand from the Brazilian. While the Englishman made it to the
final horn, Trinaldo had already put his stamp on the fight.
Chiasson Holds Off Dumont
“The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner Macy
Chiasson survived a late charge from Norma
Dumont to secure a split-decision triumph in a featherweight
clash. Judges Eric Colon
and Chris
Flores submitted 30-27 scorecards for the Fortis MMA product,
while Junichiro Kamijo had it 29-28 in favor of Dumont, who missed
weight by 0.5 pounds on Friday. After the victory, Chiasson seemed
inclined to remain at 145 pounds rather than return to the
bantamweight division.
Chiasson initially took control behind intelligent movement and
varied striking, as she kept the fight at her preferred range in
Round 1. That gradually gave way to a more grappling-heavy
approach, where Chiasson landed multiple takedowns and spend large
periods of time shoving her opponent into the fence. Dumont
displayed an increased sense of urgency in the final stanza and
tagged her foe with heavy punches, but she wasn’t able to create
separation from Chiasson long enough to deliver the necessary
finish.
Royval Rallies, Chokes Out Schnell
Former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Brandon
Royval survived some early adversity to rally for a submission
victory against Matt
Schnell in a matchup of flyweight contenders. The Factory X
representative ensnared Schnell (15-6, 5-4, 1 NC UFC) in a
guillotine choke to elicit a tapout at the 2:14 mark of Round 1.
Royval has finished nine of his victories by way of submission,
including three in
Ultimate Fighting Championship competition.
Schnell, who tragically lost his mother during his training camp,
came out with aggression and dropped Royval (14-6, 4-2 UFC) with a
right hand during a furious exchange. Schnell pounced for a finish,
and an entertaining series of scrambles on the canvas ensued.
Royval eventually broke free and returned to his feet for a moment
before diving on a guillotine as Schnell attempted to stand near
the fence. The squeeze was tight, and Schnell was tapped out
with both hands in a matter of seconds.
Ivanov Grinds Past de Lima
Former World Series of Fighting champion Blagoy
Ivanov was successful in his first bout in nearly two years,
taking a unanimous verdict against American Top Team representative
Marcos
Rogerio de Lima in a grinding heavyweight affair. Ivanov
gradually made it his type of ugly fight to earn a trio of 29-28
scorecards — the Bulgarian’s sixth consecutive appearance to go to
the judges in the Octagon.
De Lima (19-8-1, 8-6 UFC) initially made Ivanov pay for his
attempts to close the range with power-punching combinations, but
those outbursts became less frequent as the fight progressed.
Ivanov (19-4, 1 NC, 3-3 UFC) absorbed the best his Brazilian foe
had to offer, and he began to have more success landing punches and
forcing his way into the clinch. In Round 3, Ivanov opened a cut
near de Lima’s right eye with a punching combination of his own,
and it was “Pezao” who began initiating takedowns and tie-ups as
his stamina waned. A late takedown from de Lima wasn’t enough to
turn the fight in his favor.
Fialho Left Hook Folds VanCamp
Andre
Fialho scored his second consecutive knockout in UFC
competition, making short work of Octagon newcomer Cameron
VanCamp in a welterweight showdown. A left hook to the chin
folded VanCamp, and Fialho dove in with one — mostly unnecessary —
follow-up ground strike before the bout was halted. Fialho (16-4-1,
2-1 UFC) now has 12 career first-round finishes to his credit.
VanCamp (15-6-1, 1 NC, 0-1 UFC) was aggressive at the outset, and
he appeared to momentarily stun Fialho with a right hand during an
initial exchange. Perhaps emboldened by the success, VanCamp waded
forward with reckless abandon,
which left him open to the counter-left hook from Fialho. VanCamp’s
left leg folded beneath him once the blow landed, and it was
academic from there, as he suffered his first knockout in more than
seven years.
Cortez Outgrapples Gatto
Tracy
Cortez extended her professional winning streak to 10, earning
a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph against Melissa
Gatto in a flyweight pairing. All three judges submitted 29-28
tallies in favor of the Phoenix native. Cortez’s last six victories
have gone the distance..
The 28-year-old Fight Ready product relied on her wrestling and
positional control to neutralize Gatto’s submission game. Cortez
(10-1, 4-0 UFC) utilized perfectly-timed level changes in Rounds 1
and 3, and on the canvas, she landed periodic ground-and-pound
while fending off her Brazilian opponent’s active guard. Gatto’s
best moments came in the second stanza, when she punched her way
into the clinch, took Cortez’s back in a scramble and threatened
with an armbar. For the most part, however, Gatto (8-1-2, 2-1 UFC)
was all to willing to cede top position to Cortez — and that cost
her in the end.
Vergara Edges Rodrigues, Takes Split Decision
Fury FC veteran C.J. Vergara
emerged from a back-and-forth battle with Kleydson
Rodrigues to earn a split-decision triumph in a flyweight
encounter. Eric Colon
and Eric Curcio submitted 29-28 scorecards for Vergara, while
Junichiro Kamijo saw it 29-28 in favor of Rodrigues, who had a
five-fight winning streak snapped in defeat.
Vergara (10-3-1, 1-1 UFC) did his best work in Round 2 when he hurt
Rodrigues with a body kick and then powered his way into top
position following a failed takedown from his Brazilian opponent.
From there, he spent the rest of the period dropping punches and
elbows from inside his Rodrigues’ guard.
The rest of the bout was closely contested, as Vergara utilized
consistent forward pressure along with a solid jab and lead hook to
keep Rodrigues on his heels, while the Dana White’s Contender
Series veteran countered with a multi-faceted arsenal of punching
combinations to the head, kicks to the legs and body and a period
of back control in the final stanza. Ultimately, Rodrigues (7-2,
0-1 UFC) didn’t do enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.
Godinez Dominates Carnelossi
Takedowns, positional control and ground-and-pound carried Mexico’s
Lupita
Godinez to a lopsided unanimous decision triumph against
Ariane
Carnelossi in a strawweight affair. All three cageside judges
submitted scorecards in favor of the fighter known as “Loopy:”
30-27, 30-26 and 30-26.
Carnelossi never got a chance to get out of first gear. Godinez
(8-2, 3-2 UFC) executed multiple high-impact takedowns,
transitioned from one dominant position to another and battered her
heavily-muscled Brazilian opponent with powerful punches and elbows
from above. Godinez held the advantage even during the limited
periods of time the bout was standing, rocking Carnelossi (14-3,
2-2 UFC) on a couple of occasions with right hands to set up her
wrestling. Carnelossi sees a modest two-fight winning streak come
to an end in defeat.
Newson Notches First UFC Triumph
Journey
Newson secured his first promotional triumph with a three-round
verdict over Dana White’s Contender Series alum Fernando
Garcia in a bantamweight clash. The Impact Jiu Jitsu
representative earned scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the
cageside judges, bringing an end to Garcia’s five-bout winning
streak.
Newson (10-3, 1-2, 1 NC) employed a kick-heavy attack throughout,
landing leg kicks, standing side kicks and spinning kicks to keep
his boxing-minded adversary at bay. Newson flashed power in his
hands as well, stunning Garcia (10-2, 0-1 UFC) with a left hook in
Round 2 and a clean straight right in Round 3. Garcia showcased his
hand speed with quick counter combinations in the opening stanza
but became increasingly less effective as the bout progressed.