Preview: UFC Fight Night 196 ‘Costa vs. Vettori’

Welterweights

NR | Francisco Trinaldo (26-8, 16-7 UFC) vs. NR | Dwight Grant (11-3, 3-2 UFC)

ODDS: Trinaldo (-127), Grant (+107)

This figures to be an interesting but frustrating affair. Trinaldo has quietly been one of the better stories in the UFC over the past decade. Already well into his 30s by the time he was on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil,” he figured to be a complete product upon hitting the UFC roster. However, Trinaldo took what was mostly a one-dimensional power grappling approach and became a shockingly effective striker, eventually putting together a seven-fight winning streak from 2014 to 2016 that had him close to headliner status. Trinaldo has not quite recaptured that success in the years since, but he has remained a steadily successful fighter capable of turning back fellow vets like Bobby Green and John Makdessi. Now at 43 years of age, the cracks are starting to show. Trinaldo’s offensive output has clearly waned in recent years, and 2020 saw him miss weight for the first time in his career, prompting a subsequent move up to welterweight. Trinaldo’s 170-pound debut against Muslim Salikhov did not go particularly well, so he looks to rebound here. Grant is an odd prospect, if the 37-year-old can even be considered as such. A powerful athlete, “The Body Snatcher” seems to rely on intimidation to do most of the work for him, sticking to a striking game that is high on power but low on output. That has led to some violent moments, such as his knockout win over Carlo Pedersoli in 2019. However, Grant has also made fights much closer than they should be on paper, losing to Zak Ottow in 2018 and narrowly escaping with a split decision win over Stefan Sekulic in April. This may just wind up being another ponderous bout where Grant may be able to eke out a decision as the harder hitter during the few moments of action. While things are clearly trending downward for Trinaldo, he is still the more dedicated of the two in terms of advancing and causing some action, and he figures to win any wrestling exchanges if the fight enters that phase. The pick is Trinaldo via decision.

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