Frank Trevino makes debut against Renee Forte at UFC 171
After stating his desire to sign with the promotion and finally get a long-awaited UFC contract, undefeated MMA vet Frank Trevino is now set for his promotional debut.
Trevino (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a Mexican-born fighter now living in Texas, will drop from welterweight and meet fellow lightweight Renee Forte (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 171.
UFC officials today announced that verbal agreements are in place for the fight.
UFC 171 takes place March 15 at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Trevino vs. Fortee is likely to be part of the prelims.
Trevino recently joined the likes of Erik Perez, Will Campuzano and Tony Ferguson as native Mexicans on the UFC’s roster. While he had hoped his UFC debut would come in his home country, he should have no shortage of support in Texas, thanks in part to his work with Legacy FC, a Texas-based promotion where he recently defeated Lester Batres. All of the 32-year-old’s prior fights came with the South Texas Fighting Championships organization, where he won middleweight and welterweight titles. Overall, he’s 11-0 with eight stoppages, four via knockout and four via submission.
Forte, meanwhile, looks to get his UFC record back to .500. The 26-year-old Brazilian, a cast member on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,†had rebounded from a UFC-debut loss to Sergio Moraes with a decision victory over Terry Etim, which followed Forte’s move down to 155 pounds. However, in his most recent bout, he suffered a knockout loss to hard-hitting Canadian John Makdessi.
The latest UFC 171 card includes:
Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler - for vacant welterweight title
Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley
Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
Will Campuzano vs. Darrell Montague
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes
Jessica Andrade vs. Julianna Pena
Ovince St. Preux vs. Thiago Silva
Robert McDaniel vs. Tor Troeng
Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer
Renee Forte vs. Frank Trevino
