UFC's 'Massaranduba' will 'shed my last drop of blood not to disappoint' fans

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Some fighters say their primary goal in fighting is to make fans happy. Brazilian lightweight Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo takes things a step further.

When the 155-pounder moved up to middleweight for a chance to compete on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” his tenacity and willing to scrap despite being undersized made him an immediate fan favorite. He’s willing to give everything to give back.

“I am very thankful to ‘TUF’ for promoting us,” Trinaldo told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in his native Portuguese. “Even though I didn’t win, the fans really got to like me, and I will shed my last drop of blood not to disappoint them.”

While that might sound like empty chatter were it to come from the mouth of a man with different character, the 35-year-old Trinaldo isn’t one to waste words. A man of humble origins, it simply wasn’t the way he was raised.

“I grew up on farmland, in Piaui,” Trinaldo said. “Martial arts didn’t exist there. I moved to Brasilia at age 20 and started working in construction. There are no easy jobs for us from the countryside. On the weekends I would play soccer. The very same friend who gave me my nickname invited me to his academy to try out some classes. I took him up on his offer.

“Once there, I got into some hard sparring, and he liked what he saw. He told me I had a talent for fighting. I actually started training regularly by age 24.”

The results have been impressive thus far, with Trinaldo earning 13 wins against just two losses, and both of those defeats came on the Brazilian scene to current UFC contenders in Gleison Tibau and Iuri Alcantara.

While Trinaldo believes his commitment to training is a key factor in his success, he believes his upbringing also helped contribute to his physical abilities.

“As I tell my brother (Francivaldo), who also fights, we’ve always had a hard life,” Trinaldo said. “We always struggled to reach our goals since we were children. I was talking to a friend who’s a doctor and I told him I started working in the farm at a very young age. He said that it developed our strength. If you look at my brother, he’s also strong as a horse, and he had never worked out in the gym. It’s our genetic makeup and healthy diet. We’ve never been drinkers or smokers. These are the benefits of a regimented life.”

Trinaldo (13-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) fights next at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 28 event in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where he meets Polish prospect Piotr Hallman (13-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the evening’s FOX Sports 1-televised main card.

Trinaldo doesn’t like to tip his hand but feels he’s well-prepared for the challenge.

“Let’s just say that if I find an opening, I plan to exploit it,” Trinaldo said. “We’ve assembled a strategy for both standup and on the ground. We expect to always be a step ahead.”

Trinaldo’s three UFC wins have come by stoppage, including submission wins over Mike Rio and C.J. Keith a TKO victory against Delson Heleno. A victory would give Trinaldo a three-fight win streak in the promotion and perhaps an invitation to fight outside of his native Brazil for the first time in his professional career.

While Trinaldo admits he’s enjoyed the support he receives at home, he’s also looking forward to any opportunity that he can use to better his career.

“I only want one thing: I wish to give my family a better life, since I didn’t have that when I was younger,” Trinaldo said. “Now is my chance.

“After my fights, I spend time with my mother. I want to show the people in my hometown that a guy who started from the bottom like me can seize these types of opportunities in life. It’s only now that I have support, after getting into the UFC. No one supported me before that.

“I used to train at night and work during the day. I used to have to put up with lazy people who’d brag about their accomplishments. Now my focus is to train, train, train. God willing, I’m beating my next opponent.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 28, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.