After losing to rising star Movsar Evloev and dangerous Canadian Gavin Tucker in his first two UFC appearances, the 28-year-old Choi has rattled off three straight victories. He followed up his unanimous decision triumph over Youssef Zalal in February with a first-round stoppage win over Julian Erosa in June, picking up a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts.
State Of The Featherweight Division | October 2021
This has the potential to be an action-packed, cover every inch of the Octagon type of battle as both Caceres and Choi look to earn the kind of win that will carry them closer to cracking the Top 15 in the deep featherweight division. One of them is going to leave with their winning streak intact and the other is going to have to deal with a frustrating setback, and the process of sorting out which is which should be all kinds of fun.
FRANCISCO TRINALDO VS. DWIGHT GRANT
Brazilian veteran Francisco Trinaldo makes his second start in the welterweight division on Saturday, angling to get back into the win column as he takes on Contender Series graduate Dwight Grant.
Trinaldo, who turned 43 over the summer, makes the walk for the 24th time in the UFC and 35th time overall on Saturday, hoping to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Muslim Salikhov in his divisional debut in June. “Massaranduba” had won three straight prior to that contest and remains a durable, well-rounded veteran test for anyone that stands opposite him inside the Octagon.
Grant has gone 3-2 in the Octagon since earning a UFC contract with a second-round stoppage win over Tyler Hill on Season Two of Dana White’s Contender Series. Now training with the Alliance MMA crew in San Diego, the 37-year-old “Body Snatcher” scored a split decision win over Stefan Sekulic in April and looks to move to 4-1 over his last five with a victory over Trinaldo on Saturday night.
NICOLAE NEGUMEREANU VS. IKE VILLANUEVA
Light heavyweight bangers that like to settle things without the judges’ assistance meet here as Nicolae Negumereanu steps in against “Hurricane” Ike Villanueva.
Negumereanu posted a 9-0 record with nine finishes prior to arriving in the UFC, but has gone to the scorecards in each of his first two appearances inside the Octagon, dropping a decision to Saparbeg Safarov in 2019 before landing on the happy side of a split decision verdict against Aleksa Camur in June. The 27-year-old Romanian hadn’t seen the third round before his first two UFC appearances, and will look to get back to those fight-finishing ways this weekend.
Villanueva hasn’t seen the scorecards in nearly five years and has yet to see the third round through his first four UFC appearances. After registering a second-round knockout win to earn his first UFC victory in January, the 37-year-old Texan suffered his third loss in four fights five months later, getting felled by a vicious body kick from Marcin Prachnio in June.
With each of these men preferring to handle their business quickly and both looking to earn the kind of victory that cements their place in the division, don’t be surprised if this one starts hot and ends in a hurry.
