He certainly looks to be slowing down, but Trinaldo is still
shockingly effective at 43 years old. A fan favorite and already
well into his 30s on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter
Brazil,” Trinaldo looked to be a solid but relatively
one-dimensional fighter early in his UFC career proper.
“Massaranduba” had the powerful frame to overwhelm some opponents
and crank on a submission, but he would lose his effectiveness
against stronger wrestlers and grapplers. After a few years of
fighting at a high level and earning comparatively better UFC
paychecks, Trinaldo was able to put in the work to become a
surprisingly effective striker capable of plugging his opponents
with some powerful counters. That resulted in a seven-fight winning
streak that was eventually ended by Kevin Lee in
2017, and Trinaldo has spent the ensuing few years as a gatekeeper
to the rankings at both lightweight and welterweight—his new weight
class as of 2021. Trinaldo’s patient approach always walked a
tightrope, so his margin for victory is getting even thinner as he
slows down in his older age, but the Brazilian still figures to be
an obstacle for Roberts. England’s Roberts has had a solid UFC
career thus far, but things have not truly clicked for “Hot
Chocolate.” A sharp boxer with some solid grappling skills, Roberts
looks amazing against opponents beneath a certain level but usually
either quickly gets overwhelmed or slowly takes himself out of the
fight against stronger competition. That was why it was nice to see
Roberts score a June win over Ramazan
Emeev. A consistent neutralizer with a strength advantage,
Emeev was the type of opponent that had troubled Roberts in the
past, only this time the Englishman had enough effective striking
to narrowly get the nod on the scorecards. Roberts could follow a
similar path to victory here, but it is a bit worrying that he
essentially matched Emeev’s slow pace. If he does the same against
Trinaldo, the difference in this fight is that the Brazilian is an
effective enough striker to crack Roberts hard in his moments of
offense, which could be enough to either win rounds or score the
knockout outright. This figures to have slow-paced split decision
written all over it, so this is essentially a coinflip.
FEELY'S PREDICTION: The Brazilian is still more
reliable at this point and will likely get the pace he wants, so
the pick is Trinaldo via decision.
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