5 fighters who thrived in the UFC after their 40th birthday

#4. Francisco Trinaldo – UFC welterweight

It's hard to believe that current UFC welterweight Francisco Trinaldo is in his 40s

Former TUF Brazil star Francisco Trinaldo has been on the UFC roster for almost a decade now, a surprisingly long time considering he’s been competing primarily in the promotion’s most loaded division, lightweight.

However, what many fans might be more surprised about is his age. Incredibly, ‘Massaranduba’ is currently 43 years old, having reached his milestone 40th birthday back in August 2018.

The Brazilian appears to have been drinking from the fountain of youth throughout his MMA career. His impressive physique has never changed. While you’d expect a fighter of his age to be slowing down, Trinaldo somehow appears to be still improving in some ways.

His striking game, for instance, looks better than it’s ever done right now. His ever-dangerous grappling remains one of his best weapons, too.

Whether his recent move to welterweight is a sign that the cut to 155 pounds was becoming too tricky for him in his forties is probably a fair question. However, there’s every chance that he could go onto further success in the octagon after the move.

And given that his record since turning 40 stands at an impressive 4-2, it’s fair to say that ‘Massaranduba’ is a great example of a fighter able to thrive in the UFC despite his advanced age.

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#3. Yoel Romero – former UFC middleweight

Yoel Romero's incredible athleticism was maintained past his 40th birthday

Yoel Romero is no longer a part of the UFC’s roster. He now plies his trade with Bellator MMA. However, the former Olympic silver medalist remains one of the greatest examples of a fighter thriving in the octagon after his 40th birthday.

The Cuban native got a relatively late start to his MMA career in general. He only started fighting professionally in 2009 when his amateur wrestling career ended. At that stage, ‘Soldier of God’ was already 32 years old.

However, his ridiculous athleticism meant that he was easily able to overpower foes much younger than himself, often by more than a decade. He arrived in the UFC in 2013 just weeks after his 36th birthday. He immediately picked up a spectacular knockout win with a flying knee.

In the years that followed, Romero was able to beat great fighters such as Lyoto Machida, Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman and Ronaldo Souza.

He came up short in his two attempts at winning the UFC middleweight title. However, up until his UFC career ended in 2020 following a loss to Israel Adesanya, ‘Soldier of God’ was widely recognized as one of the most dangerous men in the promotion, despite being 42 years old.