Highlights: Francisco Trinaldo Melts Retiring Evan Dunham With Liver Shot
It was a card full of retiring veterans at this evening’s (Sat., September 22, 2018) UFC Fight Night 137 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.
After Brazilian middleweight Thales Leites retired after defeating Hector Lombard earlier at the event, lightweight Evan Dunham met Francisco Trinaldo on the FOX Sports 2-aired prelims. Things didn’t go quite as well for Dunham, however.
The fight was an entertaining one. Both fighters had their moments, with Dunham mixing more footwork while Trinaldo looked to counter with heavy shots. “Massaranduba” appeared to be headhunting with several huge kick attempts as well. Dunham was resilient and was landing more shots overall.
The longtime Brazilian veteran had a noted advantage in power, on the other hand. He used it to land a perfect knee to Dunham’s liver. The strike forced referee Marc Goddard to call it immediately. Watch the impressive knockout right here:
https://twitter.com/streetfitebanch/status/1043681083773132806?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1043681083773132806&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sherdog.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2FUFC-Fight-Night-137-Prelims-Francisco-Trinaldo-Finishes-Evan-Dunham-with-Perfect-Knee-142817
Dunham retired after the fight, stepping down with the pure grace and class he’s exhibited throughout his entire UFC career. He received a ton of respect on social media because of just that. Watch him thank the crowd one last time as he gave a heartfelt farewell to the Brazilian fans:
"It was an honor having my last fight here in Brazil."#Salute, @EvanDunham155! Amazing career! #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/116twmCEqW
— UFC (@ufc) September 23, 2018
Dunham steps down with an 11-8-1 record in the Octagon, therefore crediting Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, Ross Pearson, Tyson Griffin, and Nik Lentz among his biggest wins. He fought top lightweights Rafael dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone, and Edson Barboza.
He was a veteran of an amazing 20 fights in the notoriously tough UFC lightweight division. We wish Dunham all the best in his post-fighting endeavors.
