For the better part of a round and change, it appeared Francisco Trinaldo was going to roll to victory in front of his Brazilian compatriots.
But then Kevin Lee decided enough was enough. The “Motown Phenom” turned their UFC Fight Night 106 lightweight bout around in a heartbeat and finished Trinaldo in the second round of their bout on Saturday night in Forteleza, Brazil. The time of the stoppage via rear-naked choke was 3:12.
Trinaldo, who carried a seven-fight win streak into the matchup, had a strong opening round, outgrappling Lee (15-2) and wearing him down with heavy hands.
In the second, though, Lee put the focus on the standup and it paid off with a head kick that wobbled Trinaldo. He followed up with old school ground-and-pound strikes, and when Lee tried to turn away, Lee got his back, sunk in a bodylock, and then applied the RNC for the finish.
“He’s on a [seven]-fight win streak,” Lee said of Trinaldo. “He’s one of the top-10 guys. In the second round I knew I had to kick more with him and not just focus on the wrestling.”
Lee’s now one four straight and eight of his past nine. He’s aiming high from here, calling out Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Khabib, that’s the fight I want,” Lee said. “You and me baby, let’s do this.”
Trinaldo dropped to 14-3.