James Vick will fight at UFC Austin after all.
Vick is slated to meet fellow lightweight contender Francisco Trinaldo in a hometown affair for the Texas native on Feb. 18 at UFC Austin. The UFC announced the news Thursday following an initial report by MMA DNA. The booking comes a few weeks after Vick, nicknamed “The Texecutioner,” publicly voiced his displeasure at getting passed over by Donald Cerrone vs. Yancy Medeiros for the event’s headlining slot.
A winner of eight of his nine Octagon appearances, Vick (12-1) has struggled to secure a matchup against the top contenders in the UFC lightweight division despite his winning ways. Since losing to Beneil Dariush in June 2016 in his only shot at a top-10 foe, Vick has rattled off a trio of impressive stoppage victories, finishing Abel Trujillo, Marco Polo Reyes, and Joseph Duffy in a flawless 2017 campaign.
He’ll now meet Trinaldo (22-5), the man with whom he is currently tied for No. 14 spot on the UFC’s media-generated lightweight rankings.
The 39-year-old Trinaldo picked up his biggest victory to date in October when he defeated Jim Miller via unanimous decision. The performance pushed the Brazilian’s record to 8-1 over his last nine contests, a run highlighted by wins over Medeiros, Paul Felder, Chad Laprise, and Ross Pearson.
In addition, the UFC announced a lightweight contest between Jared Gordon and Diego Ferreira for UFC Austin.
Gordon (14-1) is a perfect 2-0 in his Octagon run, having defeated Michel Quinones and Hacran Dias. A 29-year-old former CFFC champion, Gordon’s harrowing story of overcoming multiple drug overdoses to achieve his UFC dreams has been profiled by MMA Fighting.
In Ferreira (12-2), he’ll meet an Octagon veteran riding high off a decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier last January. The 32-year-old Brazilian is 3-2 over his UFC run, holding stoppage victories over Ramsey Nijem and Colton Smith.
UFC Austin takes place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. In addition to Cerrone vs. Medeiros, the card features Sage Northcutt vs. Thibault Gouti, Derrick Lewis vs. Marcin Tybura,Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno, and Tonya Evinger vs. Marion Reneau, among others.
