As Frank Trigg Walks Away From MMA, He Leaves With Some Harsh and Brutal Criticism … of Himself

The sounds of LL Cool J’s hit song, “Mama Said Knock You Out” blared over the sound system at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Out walked Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg for what he dubbed a “loser leaves town” bout with Matt Serra at UFC 109. Trigg was coming off a knockout loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 103, so it was now or never for him.

As it played out, Trigg’s choice of entrance music served as an ironic reminder of a sport that can be cruel to those on the wrong side of victory. Mama did indeed tell one of the men to “knock you out” … it’s just that Frank Trigg was on the receiving end.

A devastating overhand right from Serra flattened Trigg. Three unanswered punches later forced a halt to the bout. The 2:23 it took for the contest to play out was more than just the duration of the match — Trigg knew exactly what time it was.

“I knew that was my last fight in the UFC the moment I got up off the canvas,” says Trigg. “I enjoyed the walk back [to the dressing room] because I knew it would be the last time.”

IS THE UFC BUT A MEMORY?
By the time Monday rolled around, Trigg received the phone call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. Trigg says it was expected and was likely harder for Silva to say than for him to hear.
“I said, ‘Look Joe. It’s business and not personal. I lost two in a row.’ The conversation wasn’t fun and I was upset about it, but it is what it is,” says Trigg.

With a UFC career now firmly a memory, Trigg rules out another run in “the minor leagues” of MMA. There are no talks of building up another win streak to get back to the big show, as he did after dropping back-to-back bouts with Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre. This is it. The curtain call. The last act of Frank Trigg.

“I’m not competitive so why bother?” he laments. “To me, the matchups are the top 10 guys and I’m not beating them.”

Anthony’s full story is in the September issue of Ultimate MMA.