At BKFC Fight Night Omaha, a star makes his return
(Photo Courtesy: BKFC)
On May 17th, 2024, one of the best welterweights in the world, Carlos Trinidad-Snake (4-0, 2 KO’s) will face off with Dustin Pague (3-1, 2 KO’s) in the main event of BKFC Fight Night Omaha. It's been nearly a year since bare knuckle fans have seen “Uzumaki” enter the squared circle, but before that absence he was on his way to a world title shot.
Like most bare knucklers, Uzumaki started his combat sports career in a different discipline, MMA in this case. He turned pro in 2020 winning his first bout by stoppage before debuting in BKFC nine months later. He steamrolled his opponent Noah Cutter in less than a minute, immediately putting his stamp on the division.
He followed that up eight months later with another stoppage victory, this time in the fourth round against Tyler Jacques, once again dominating the action, showing his ability in the bare knuckle game. Six months later, he would be slated as the antepenultimate bout of BKFC 33, against the experienced Rynell Riley. Definitely touted as a “prove it” performance for Uzumaki. Trinidad-Snake passed with flying colours earning a unanimous decision after five rounds.
With his 3-0 record, Uzumaki was starting to emerge as a potential title challenger. This was made crystal clear by his next matchup, former champion Elvin Brito. In Brito’s fight previous, he dropped the title to all-time great Luis Palomino, and was looking for a bounce back performance to get him right back to a championship opportunity.
But Uzumaki had other plans, keeping one step ahead of “El Bandito'' for the full 10 minutes. The win was his fourth victory and kept him undefeated under the BKFC banner. Unfortunately for Trinidad-Snake, and for the fans, that bout in May of 2023 was the last time we have seen him fight. His bout on May 17th will be almost an exact calendar year since he’s been in the ring. And a contender who was once rolling must now see if he can jumpstart his title run and keep the progress he made to get to this point.
His opponent Pague is by no means a softball for his return. If Uzumaki is going to remain undefeated it won’t be easy. After losing his debut, Pague has won three straight with two stoppages, and made two appearances in 2023.
While it’s been just about one year since we’ve seen him, Carlos Trinidad-Snake has a chance to remind us all that he is still a contender in this division.
Comments