Nothing came easy but Randy Brown still earned his fourth win in a row in a grueling decision over Francisco Trinaldo in the UFC Vegas 61 co-main event.
It looked like the fight might end early after Brown scored a devastating knockdown in the opening round but Trinaldo survived and showed the veteran experience that has kept him competing at 44 years of age. Still, Brown was able to mount enough offense over the course of the fight to secure the decision with all three judges give him 29-28 scorecards.
“Hell of a test,” Brown said about his win. “I don’t think that was my best work. I know the fans watching know that. He was a true veteran. I definitely felt that experience in there. Somehow still unranked. I don’t give a damn where I’m ranked. Cut my check.”
With a significant size and reach advantage, Brown was keeping Trinaldo at distance in nearly every exchange as he set up his striking combinations. Brown was using a front kick to help disguise his punches, which led to a thunderous right hand blasting Trinaldo on the jaw and sitting him down on the ground.
Trinaldo was quick to get back to his feet as he grabbed onto the clinch and then transitioned to a takedown while looking for submissions. Brown was able quickly scramble free and escape before looking for a guillotine choke of his own before the first round came to a close.
While Trinaldo was still struggling to deal with Brown’s long and rangy strikes, he did start finding a home for a well-timed overhand left. The punch forced Brown to defend more at distance as he poked away at Trinaldo with strikes of his own to try and back him off.
Brown was still snapping off a slick lead jab and punishing Trinaldo any time the Brazilian was foolish enough to stand on the outside to strike with him. Trinaldo did manage to snap off a nice calf kick late in the fight that took out Brown’s leg and put him down on the ground.
From there, Trinaldo jumped into the guard as he began peppering away with punches and elbows going to the head and the body. Brown defended well as he stalled out Trinaldo’s attacks before the fight came to a close.
The victory not only puts Brown on a four-fight win streak but he’s also 6-1 over his past seven appearances in the UFC as he continues his climb up the welterweight ranks.