UFC Fight Night 67 Date: May 30, 2015 Arena: Goiana Arena City: Goiana, Goias, Brazil Lightweight bout: Francisco Trinaldo (+200) vs Norman Parke (-240) Fight Breakdown: Kicking things off for the UFC Fight Night 67 main card will be a lightweight contest between Brazil’s Francisco Trinaldo and Northern Ireland’s “Stormin'” Norman Parke. Trinaldo is a +200 ($100 to win $200) underdog heading into the bout, with Parke being the favorite to win at -240 ($240 to win $100) Several Bookmakerss. Francisco Trinaldo (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) rides a two fight winning streak with a pair of unanimous decision victories over Leandro Silva and Akhbar Arreola and looks to extend that streak to three against the Irishman this Saturday night. The Brazilian is a very strong and powerful fighter who possesses a great chin and is capable of taking a lot of punishment, as he has not once been knocked out in his professional mixed martial arts career. Trinaldo works powerful takedowns, and implements brutal ground and pound when finding himself in top position on the mat. He is well-versed on the mat and owns a solid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, being a brown belt under (current UFC welterweight) Sergio Moraes. The 36-year old is capable of finishing fights with both strikes and submissions, as five of his 14 career victories come by way of T/KO and another five by tapout. Trinaldo cuts a lot of weight to meet the lightweight limit, and that combined with age often cause him to gas and lose momentum in fights, and his cardio is often hit or miss. Regardless, he will be at a disadvantage in that department heading into this bout against the cardio machine that is Norman Parke. “Stormin'” Norman Parke (20-3-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) last saw action at UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston four months ago, where he dropped a split decision to Gleison Tibau, ultimately getting his first taste of Octagon defeat. The Northern Irishman is a talented and well-rounded mixed martial artist who excels in many departments. His striking is sound and always improving, as is his ground game. He has solid wrestling, jiu-jitsu and judo skills, and he is a very good grinder on top of being a striker. Parke does a good job of grinding out opponents against the cage, as well as on the mat. Once he gets a hold of his opponents, it is hard to get him off, as he is a powerful lightweight who possesses great top control. He works a heavy top game, has good submissions and displays a nice ground and pound attack. Being a student of Robert Drysdale’s, Parke has a solid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, owning 12 of his 20 professional mixed martial arts victories by way of tapout. To compliment his solid offensive wrestling, his defensive grappling skills are also excellent, as he has terrific takedown defense, as well as great submission defense. Training out of Alliance MMA in San Diego, CA, Parke is a well-conditioned athlete who will be able to go hard for all three rounds of action this Saturday night, if necessary. Gabe’s Call: Parke by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Thoughts: In short, I think Parke has advantages is technical striking, grappling and cardio, and over the course of three rounds, I think he will be able to do enough to outpoint Trinaldo for a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. That said, after his last performance, it is hard to play him at his current price, but I do favor this fight to hit the cards. The judges will likely decide the outcome to this one, and I think that’s the safer option, as opposed to taking Parke straight up on enemy soil. Gabe’s Recommended Parlays: 1) Trinaldo/Parke Over 2.5 rounds (-225) parlayed with Bektic (-400) and Formiga/Reis Over 2.5 rounds (-265) at +148 for 2.7u to win 4.01u, and 2) Trinaldo/Parke Over 2.5 rounds (-225) parlayed with Bektric (-400) and Dalby (-365) at +130 for 3.85u to win 5u
