UFC Brasilia results: Francisco Trinaldo outworks John Makdessi to win unanimous decision

Francisco Trinaldo didn’t get an ovation from his hometown crowd on Saturday, but he still got the job done with a strong performance over John Makdessi to kick off the main card at UFC Fight Night from Brasilia.

Time and time again, Trinaldo came after Makdessi with a strong striking attack and while he didn’t earn the finish, it was clear who was controlling the action in the fight from the first round to the last. Ultimately, the judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 with Trinaldo earning his second win in a row overall.

“It’s amazing to fight here even if there’s no crowd,” Trinaldo said while addressing an empty arena due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. “All my opponents have been running away from me for some reason.”

With or without the crowd behind him, Trinaldo was on the attack from the opening seconds of the first round as he began stalking Makdessi around the Octagon with a variety of strikes.

Trinaldo was far more effective with his combinations as he tagged Makdessi with his hands and several stiff kicks to the legs and body. The biggest problem plaguing Makdessi was constantly circling away from Trinaldo’s power but not really doing much to mount his own offense.

While he could have easily gotten frustrated with Makdessi’s lack of action, Trinaldo just kept up a workmanlike pace as he continued to pursue his opponent and forcing the Canadian fighter to stay on his back foot.

The fight ended without much drama, but it was still an important victory for Trinaldo, who had bounced back and forth between wins and losses for six straight contests until Saturday night.