TUF 27 winner Mike Trizano booked to return on February 20 after nearly two-years off

Mike Trizano is back.

The Ultimate Fighter 27 winner has not fought since May of 2019 due to some injuries. The hope for Trizano was to be able to fight at the end of 2020, but that did not come to fruition. Instead, according to MMA DNA, Trizano is booked to return on February 20 against Rafael Alves.

Mike Trizano is coming off his first career loss back in May of 2019 as he suffered a submission loss to Grant Dawson, however, Dawson missed weight for the fight. Before that, “The Lone Wolf” beat Luis Pena by split decision, and Joe Giannetti by split decision to win TUF 27. On the show, Trizano defeated John Gunther and Thai Clark.

Due to knee surgery, Trizano was unable to fight at all in 2020 and is looking to remain active and work his way up the lightweight division.

Rafael Alves, meanwhile, earned his way into the UFC with a submission win over Alejandro Flores on the Contender Series. The Titan FC alum is currently 19-9 as a pro and on a five-fight winning streak. Before getting on DWCS, Alves was the interim Titan FC lightweight champion.

This is a very interesting matchup between two lightweight prospects. Although Alves is 30, he has yet to make his UFC debut and he is in tough against Trizano. However, the winner of the matchup will likely get a push up the stacked lightweight division while the loser will have to face another newcomer or young fighter.

The February 20 card is as follows: