James Vick Out Works Francisco Trinaldo To Earn Unanimous Decision in Home State
James Vick kept his winning streak alive with a unanimous decision win over Francisco Trinaldo in a featured bout at UFC Fight Night in Austin on Sunday night.
Vick was adamant about landing on the card as he hails from Texas, although he was admittedly upset that he wasn’t in consideration for the main event. In the end, Vick got a fight and now a win, which was all that really mattered.
As the fight got underway, both competitors were throwing some heavy leather early with Trinaldo looking for a big overhand left repatedly, trying to get past Vick’s reach advantage.
Vick fired back and clipped Trinaldo with a stinging punch that dropped the Brazilian to the mat, which ended with the Texas native rushing forward to land more strikes but he over extended and ended up in a takedown attempt. Trinaldo eventually transitioned into a guillotine choke, which looked tight but Vick stayed patient before slipping out of the submission to get back to his feet.
Vick hammered away with better strikes for the remainder of the round with Trinaldo slowing down just slightly after burning his arms trying to get that submission finish.
The action slowed a bit in the second round with Trinaldo landing an early body lock takedown but then failing to control Vick on the ground, who was quick to get back to his feet.
In turn, Vick was effective with his kicking game, landing to the head and body throughout the five-minute session as he avoided all of the big power shots coming from Trinaldo.
The TEXecutioner does it again as @JamesVickMMA beats Francisco Trinaldo for his fourth win in a row! Can Vick get a big fight next now? #UFCAustin https://t.co/9SPMl6abRf
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 19, 2018
Vick continued with the same game plan in the third round, peppering away at Trinaldo with single punches and kicks without opening himself too much to allow a counter shot.
When the final horn sounded, it was Vick’s length and effective striking that did the job for him over three rounds to get the job done in front of a home state crowd. All three scorecards read the same 29-28 in favor of Vick, who has now won four straight fights in the UFC.
Afterwards, Vick turned his attention to the list of fighters who he claims don’t want to face him while he’s anxious to set his sights on the best of the best in the lightweight division.
“I’m tired of calling these clowns out,” Vick said while mentioning Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee as two fighters who he says have turned down bouts with him recently. “I’m thinking Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I’m thinking Tony Ferguson, I’m thinking [Conor] McGregor. I’m thinking world titles.”
