Francisco Trinaldo beat John Makdessi with a unanimous decision Saturday to open the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in Brasilia, Brazil.
Take a look inside the fight with Trinaldo, who called out Kevin Lee – but before Lee lost to Charles Oliveira in the main event and said after he may be taking a hiatus for a long while.
Result: Francisco Trinaldo def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Updated records: Trinaldo (25-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC), Makdessi (17-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC)
Key stat: Trinaldo, who now has back-to-back victories for his first winning streak since 2016.
Trinaldo on the fight’s key moment
“I expected John Makdessi to be more aggressive. I thought he was going to move forward, but he didn’t. Because of my last result, which I’m sure I won, I knew I needed to come with more desire to finish as quickly as possible. I didn’t, but I dominated from beginning to end.”
Trinaldo on fighting in an emptry arena
“I have a lot of stories to tell. Besides being one of the athletes with the most number of fights in Brazil, I now had the opportunity to fight in an event without any fans. It was really cool – it felt like I was fighting in a closed-door gym.”
Trinaldo on what he wants next
“I want to fight with the top-ranked athletes in the (division). I would love to face Kevin Lee and be able to defeat him.”
