This Saturday night Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg climbs back into the UFC Octagon for the first time in four years. Trigg will be battling what he has called “a younger faster version of himself” in Josh Koscheck.
The odds-makers have made Trigg a pretty significant underdog and few of the “professionals” believe he can beat Koscheck. From the outside looking in it is understandable why the odds are against Trigg.
First of all, he is 37-years-old and Koscheck is 31. Also, Koscheck has been fighting higher quality opponents over the last few years.
Much of why Koscheck is considered a favorite is also due to perception. He has been more in the public eye. Koscheck may not have even known Trigg had still been fighting these last few years.
Most of what the casual fan knows about Trigg is that he is the guy that got choked out by Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. And even though his last submission loss was in 2006, many people still know him as the guy who can not defend a rear-naked choke.
It is true Trigg is older. However, it is not like he is 45 or even 40. He is only 37. That is not really old when you consider Trigg’s fighting style. His style has never depended that much on speed.
The things Trigg has control over is what is most important. For the first time in many years Trigg is just focused on being a fighter. He is not doing radio, he is not running a clothing company, he is not commentating fights, he is focused on this fight.
Trigg has made many changes since the guy we saw get submitted by Hughes or knocked out by Lawler. The most significant changes have been his move to Xtreme Couture, his level of focus, and getting Randy in his corner.
A lot of other high caliber gyms have popped up in recent years that have taken a bit of Xtreme Couture’s luster away, but one still can never underestimate the advantage you get when training with the likes of Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, Martin Kampmann, Randy Couture, and Vitor Belfort on a regular basis.
The other change Trigg made was moving up in weight class. Trigg moved up to middleweight, broke into the top ten, and is currently on a four-fight win streak all at 185 lbs. Now moving back down to 170 lbs. for this fight, he will have a size and strength advantage over Koscheck.
Trigg has made it clear what his intentions are. He wants to make a run at the title. He wants his name mentioned among the greats like Couture, Liddell, Hughes. The only place you can achieve that level is within the UFC. And at his age this is surely Trigg’s last chance.
One could say Trigg’s whole future, maybe his entire legacy, rests on this fight with Koscheck. Will he rise to the occasion? Has he truly re-invented himself and become the best Frank Trigg possible? And if he has, is it still good enough to get past one of the UFC’s new breed?
Koscheck arrived in the UFC the same year Trigg left. All but two of Koscheck’s fights have been within the UFC. During that time, Trigg has been around the world, from Hawaii, to Japan, to Florida, fighting the best that was available outside the world’s top promotion. And he did good, he proved he is ready for one final chance.
Even if Trigg loses on Saturday, he can say he gave it everything he had. With one-hundred percent focus he went for it and was inside the cage once again in the the world’s premiere fight organization. That is more than most will ever achieve.
Then again, he just might win.
By: Jack Bratcher
Trigg is a B class fighter and he will never win a fight in the UFC.
He already has won fightS in the UFC.