Francisco Trinaldo admits he was ‘a bit offended’ by UFC release, still wants to continue to fight
Francisco Trinaldo was surprised the UFC decided to not keep him on the roster.
Trinaldo had been in the UFC since 2012 as he competed on TUF 1 Brazil and had fought 26 times in the UFC. He was a fan-favorite and fought the who’s who of the lightweight and welterweight divisions, and with the UFC heading back to Brazil at UFC 283 he thought he would be on the card. Yet, the UFC told him they were not going to re-sign him which he was offended by.
“It was good for as long as it lasted,” Trinaldo said to MMAFighting. “We feel a bit offended, but it’s also good to me because it gives me more energy to train. Not that I was tired of fighting in the UFC, but … it’s good that I’m going to fight for other promotions now, meet other people. MMA is only growing, so let’s leave that feeling in the past.”
Although Francisco Trinaldo is 44-years-old, he went 5-2 in his last seven to show he still is a top fighter. However, last time out he did drop a decision to Randy Brown to snap his two-fight winning streak, which played a role in him not being re-signed.
The hope for Trinaldo is he can sign with PFL and fight in a tournament to try and make $1 million dollars. But, in the end, he says wherever he goes he will still be himself.
“I know I did good work in the UFC and I know I’ll do an even better job somewhere else,” Trinaldo said. “I feel younger and younger in MMA, training with the kids every day… You know why I was in the UFC for so long? I was there for so long because I never cared about what others said. People talk only, they talk nicely or badly, and I always kept working and doing good. It’s what I tell the kids that will replace me: Be yourself. If you’re an a**hole, be an a**hole, don’t try to be nice. Be yourself, don’t change masks. That’s what I did my entire career in the UFC, I was always myself.”
In his career, Trinaldo holds notable wins over Bobby Green, Jim Miller, Paul Felder, Yancy Medeiros, and Jai Herbert among others.
