UFC Fight Night 170: Lee vs. Oliveira - Predictions and Picks

Lightweights: Francisco Trinaldo vs. John Makdessi

Francisco Trinaldo is one of the UFC's oldest fighters at 41

One of the oldest fighters on the UFC roster at 41, ‘Massaranduba’ Trinaldo belies his age by somehow appearing to still be in his fighting prime, perhaps because he’s taken far less damage than other fighters who’ve been around since 2006. A large 155lber, Trinaldo is currently 14-6 in the Octagon – and would be 15-5 were it not for a terrible decision against Alexander Hernandez last year.

‘Massaranduba’ is an excellent fighter in all areas, but the main reason he excels is his power, whether that’s in terms of his heavy strikes or his brute-force style of grappling. At times his cardio has let him down, but those incidents have been relatively rare; he has plenty of decision wins to his name, and in all honesty, very few real weaknesses.

So, what to make of this fight with Makdessi? ‘The Bull’ is another real veteran, having debuted in the UFC back in 2010, and while he’s impressed at times, he’s often been one of the most frustrating fighters on the roster to watch.

The Canadian is an excellent technical striker, but he’s almost purely a counter-attacker, meaning against the wrong opponent, it’s easy for him to be lulled into a dull staring contest – as we saw in his last fight, a diabolical showing against Jesus Pinedo that saw Makdessi pick up a win by virtue of landing a handful more strikes than his foe.

Makdessi has a solid enough chin; he’s only ever been KO’d by a spinning wheel kick from Lando Vannata, but he was also outstruck by Donald Cerrone, who broke his jaw, and found it hard going against Mehdi Baghdad too. And while his wrestling isn’t too bad, on the ground he’s never looked fully comfortable.

To me, this comes down to whether Trinaldo gets lulled into a point-fighting contest, as he did somewhat in his fight with Hernandez. If he does, for all of his striking skill, there’s every chance that Makdessi does just enough to edge out a decision.

If Trinaldo can get inside and rough him up though, I think he’s got enough in his arsenal to either take Makdessi down and grind out a decision or find a submission, or even to land a big enough shot to take him out standing. And in the end, ‘Massaranduba’ is the more proven fighter at a higher level.

The Pick: Trinaldo via unanimous decision