LAS VEGAS — Michael Chiesa came into his UFC 173 fight against Francisco Trinaldo without a knockout or TKO finish among his 10 pro fights.
So in the first round Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he went looking for it … and looking … and looking. Chiesa landed 60 of 100 significant strikes in the round to Trinaldo’s 2 of 7, but Trinaldo survived the onslaught.
While Chiesa didn’t get his first stoppage via strikes, it was still more than enough. The Ultimate Fighter 15 winner cruised to a unanimous decision win over the former TUF: Brazil counterpart, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27.
Chiesa scored an early takedown in the first round and took over, raining down elbows and punches from the mount. Trinaldo, for his part, did the best he could to ride out the storm and somewhat minimize the damage. Two of three judges scored the round 10-8.
Trinaldo put a scare into Chiesa in round two by capturing him in a solid guillotine, but Chiesa popped out and went on to control the rest of the round.
In the final round, Trinaldo landed a low blow knee. After the timeout, Chiesa resumed control, scoring a takedown and working his ground and pound until the final horn. Trinaldo briefly managed to catch Chiesa in an armlock, but to no avail.
Chiesa improved to 11-1 with his second straight win; Trinaldo dropped to 13-4, losing for the second time in his past three.
Chiesa said he wasn’t surprised Trinaldo wasn’t finished.
“No, not at all,” Chiesa said. “Trinaldo’s a seasoned vet, and and these Brazilians are no joke. I knew I had to grind it out for 15 minutes.”