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 […]

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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:

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:

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.

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Video: Thales Leites Retires On High Note In Brazil

Longtime veterans Thales Leites and Hector Lombard met on the preliminary card of tonight’s (Sat., September 22, 2018) UFC Fight Night 137 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. Little did we know, it was Leites’ last fight in his long and decorated MMA career. It also wasn’t without some adversity, however. Leites’ knee was swollen quite gruesomely at […]

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Longtime veterans Thales Leites and Hector Lombard met on the preliminary card of tonight’s (Sat., September 22, 2018) UFC Fight Night 137 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.

Little did we know, it was Leites’ last fight in his long and decorated MMA career. It also wasn’t without some adversity, however. Leites’ knee was swollen quite gruesomely at one point.

Check it out:

It wasn’t the most eventful fight, yet Leites was able to get his hand raised by decision after three rounds:

Leites then did something that was perhaps unexpected. The middleweight mainstay dropped his gloves in the Octagon and retired in his home country of Brazil:

Leites leaves the sport behind with a quietly historic career. He is tied for the third-most wins in UFC middleweight history with 13. That’s an impressive feat to be sure.

“Milk” debuted in the Octagon all the way back in November 2006. He lost a decision to Martin Kampmann. He then ran up five straight wins afterward. That earned him a title shot against all-time great former champ Anderson Silva in April 2009. The fight is still largely considered one of the worst UFC title fights of all-time.

But he still fought “The Spider” in his prime.

Leites also probably could not have chosen a better moment to go out on top after a close victory in his Brazilian homeland. He beat Lombard yet had lost three of his previous five UFC bouts. He was a talented submission artist who tapped out 15 opponents in his nearly 15-year mixed martial arts career. Leites faced top names like Silva, Michael Bisping, Lombard, Jeremy Horn, and Tim Boetsch.

We wish Leites all the best in his post-fight life.

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UFC Veteran Diego Nunes Face-Plants Joachim Hansen with Massive KO Punch

A trip to Sweden can cure what ails you. Just ask Diego Nunes. The UFC and Bellator featherweight veteran was in the throes of a three-fight losing streak that had sent him out of MMA‘s big leagues. But he didn’t even need two full rounds of cage action Saturday to resurrect his pro career at […]

A trip to Sweden can cure what ails you. Just ask Diego Nunes. The UFC and Bellator featherweight veteran was in the throes of a three-fight losing streak that had sent him out of MMA‘s big leagues. But he didn’t even need two full rounds of cage action Saturday to resurrect his pro career at […]

UFC Releases Veteran Welterweight Paulo Thiago

A UFC welterweight the past five years, Paulo Thiago has been cut by the world’s top MMA promotion. Since Thiago had lost three in a row, the release was widely expected. MMAFighting.com confirmed the UFC’s decision on Wednesday. In his first trip to the Octagon during February 2009, Thiago shocked the 170-pound class with a […]

A UFC welterweight the past five years, Paulo Thiago has been cut by the world’s top MMA promotion. Since Thiago had lost three in a row, the release was widely expected. MMAFighting.com confirmed the UFC’s decision on Wednesday. In his first trip to the Octagon during February 2009, Thiago shocked the 170-pound class with a […]

UFC Veteran Cody McKenzie Gives Blood to Make Weight for Battlegrounds MMA

And to think he used to fight at featherweight. Popular oddball, notorious party dude and former UFC competitor and The Ultimate Fighter contestant Cody McKenzie reportedly was reduced to giving blood in order to make weight for Friday’s Battlegrounds MMA welterweight tournament.  The news was reported Thursday by Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting.  McKenzie has […]

And to think he used to fight at featherweight. Popular oddball, notorious party dude and former UFC competitor and The Ultimate Fighter contestant Cody McKenzie reportedly was reduced to giving blood in order to make weight for Friday’s Battlegrounds MMA welterweight tournament.  The news was reported Thursday by Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting.  McKenzie has […]

Veteran Lightweight Gleison Tibau Still Going Strong Heading into Fight Night 51

Fighting under the UFC banner is a goal the majority of fighters strive to achieve. The organization is undoubtedly the largest in mixed martial arts, and the roster is home to nearly all of the top-ranked talent in every weight class. Fighting under the bright lights of the Octagon is a dream to most, and […]

Fighting under the UFC banner is a goal the majority of fighters strive to achieve. The organization is undoubtedly the largest in mixed martial arts, and the roster is home to nearly all of the top-ranked talent in every weight class. Fighting under the bright lights of the Octagon is a dream to most, and […]