1. Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is a retired American mixed martial artist.
16 Facts About Falaniko Vitale
1. 2.
Falaniko Vitale competed in the Middleweight division and has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, the IFL, and King of the Cage.
3.
Falaniko Vitale is a former SuperBrawl Middleweight Champion, and won the X-1 Middleweight Tournament.
4.
Falaniko Vitale is of mixed Samoan, Chinese, German, and Portuguese descent.
5.
Falaniko Vitale graduated from Waipahu High School and was a star defensive back in football, going on to play for the University of Hawaii.
6.
Falaniko Vitale made his professional debut in 1999 against future UFC veteran Aaron Riley and won via TKO.
7.
Falaniko Vitale made his UFC debut at UFC 43 against Olympic wrestler Matt Lindland in Nevada and won in a spectacular and very unusual slam knockout in which Lindland attempted to slam Falaniko Vitale but landed on his own head knocking himself out.
8.
Falaniko Vitale then mounted Lindland and the referee stopped the match.
9.
Two fights later, Falaniko Vitale defeated future UFC veteran Yushin Okami via split decision.
10.
Falaniko Vitale bounced back with a win but then lost again in his IFL debut in Oakland, California against Jeremy Horn via split decision.
11.
Three fights after his loss to Horn, Falaniko Vitale made his Strikeforce debut, winning after his opponent submitted due to strikes.
12.
Three fights later, Falaniko Vitale returned in a bout against Frank Trigg which he lost via unanimous decision.
13.
On January 28,2011, Falaniko Vitale signed a long-term deal with Bellator.
14.
Falaniko Vitale lost his debut fight against former Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard in a non-title fight.
15.
Falaniko Vitale faced Jaime Jara at X-1 - Jara vs Falaniko Vitale on September 26,2014.
16.
Falaniko Vitale lost the bout via second-round submission and subsequently retired from mixed martial arts.