Francisco Trinaldo explains move to 170 pounds, says he’s no ‘easy fight’ even for heavyweights

Francisco Trinaldo Esther Lin, MMA Fighting A longtime veteran of the game with 33 professional fights across multiple weight classes, 42-year-old Francisco Trinaldo sees his UFC Vegas 28 bout on Saturday night as the beginning of a new journey.

Nine years after joining the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 1 as a middleweight and scoring big wins over the likes of Paul Felder, Jim Miller, Yancy Medeiros and Evan Dunham at 155 pounds, “Massaranduba” makes his welterweight debut opposite Muslim Salikhov at the UFC APEX on Saturday.

“I’m looking at this fight as a re-debut in the UFC,” Trinaldo said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “An experienced guy debuting again in the UFC. I’m…