Massaranduba is a training partner of Paulo Thiago and Rani Yahya. He spends most of his training time at the Constrictor and Evoluçāo Thai teams, and occasionally at Brazilian Top Team. He is a brown belt in Brazilian-Jiu Jitsu under fellow UFC conteder Sérgio Moraes.

In 2010 Sherdog.com listed Trinaldo as their top prospect in MMA. Massaranduba is regarded as being hampered by financial issues that prevented his rise further in the sport, sooner.

Coming from a disadvantaged background, Massaranduba struggles have been documented, and he has been quoted as saying "Sometimes I can’t train because I don’t have money to catch a bus and go to the academy."  For an extended period, Trinaldo would walk and have to take 2 buses daily across the city to get to his gym, and the same back.

He began in full-contact Kickboxing when he was 23, becoming a student of the notorious André Dida Amado. He would go on to build a 12 - 1 Kickboxing record and become a 3-time Brasília-State Kickboxing Champion. After achieving this he then switched gear to focus full time on winning MMA fights. He went 6 - 1 as an amateur MMA fighter.

Massaranduba's professional career began in the Fight Club Tournament promotion, where he won his opening bout via unanimous decision. This was followed by a TKO due to corner stoppage. Massaranduba then fought twice more, securing a submission victory via arm-triangle choke and another victory via TKO due to punches and soccer kicks after 12 seconds. 

He went on to fight 9 more times in regional events before being signed to the UFC. Trinaldo went 5 - 1 in the revered "Jungle Fight" promotion, and locked in a kneebar submission win over big show veteran Luiz Firmino, at Bitetti Combat 6. 

Earning a decision win over another UFC veteran in Adriano Martíns, this win crowned Trinaldo as the unified 'Jungle Fight' Lightweight Champion, having won the interm-Lightweight title in his previous contest. 

His lone promotional loss came way of current UFC Bantamweight contender Iuri Alcantara in a 'Jungle Fight' Lightweight tournament, via submission.

In March 2012, Massaranduba appeared as a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.He entered in the competition to fight in the Middleweight tournament.

When he began practicing MMA, he only wanted to fight. Then his friends began to compare it with the old sitcom character of "Casseta and Planeta from TV Globo called "Massaranduba"

As of 2017 Massaranduba has scored an impressive 12 - 4 record in the UFC, being somewhat of a staple fighter for the promotion's Brazilian events.