The UFC Sao Paulo lightweight showdown between Francisco Trinaldo and Evan Dunham was turning into a barnburner in the second round, the sort in which it seemed a split second could make all the difference.
That’s exactly the way Dunham wanted things in what he announced beforehand was his retirement fight.
Dunham was always a guy who either won or went out on his shield. So Dunham came forward to throw a wicked right uppercut, but Trinaldo used exquisite timing to land a knockout knee to the ribs just before Dunham made impact.
It turned out to be a one-strike knockout, as Trinaldo, the oldest active lightweight in the UFC at 40, won the the bout at the 4:10 mark.
“This was my last fight, I didn’t want an easy fight and it definitely wasn’t an easy fight,” Dunham said. “It was an honor to fight here in Brazil.”
Dunham seemed to have the slight nod in the opening round, as he asserted himself late by catching Trinaldo, hitting him with an uppercut as he tried to get back to his feet, then working for a guillotine.
Things picked up in a fast-picked second round, with the heat turning up right until the point Trinaldo scored his knockout blow.
With the victory, Trinaldo improved to 23-6, with nine wins in his past 11 bouts. it was the Brasilia, Brazil native’s 10th UFC win.
The 36-year old Dunham, who made his company debut with a knockout win over Per Eklund at UFC 95, finishes with a career record of 18-8-1, 12-6 in the UFC.
