Gianpiero Villante was born on August 18,1985 and is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
57 Facts About Gian Villante
1.
2.
Gian Villante followed this up his senior year by winning the New York State Championship at the 215-pound weight class.
3.
Gian Villante earned all-American honors following a 5th-place finish in the 215 lbs weight class at the 2003 NHSCA senior national wrestling tournament.
4.
Gian Villante was equally accomplished in football, in which he received the 2002 Thorpe Award winner as the top football player in Nassau County, the Bill Piner Award as the top linebacker in Nassau County and was named to the High School Heisman All-Star team.
5.
Gian Villante drew interest from major Division I schools, such as Penn State and Michigan State.
6.
Gian Villante chose to stay home and committed to Hofstra University.
7.
Gian Villante attended Hofstra University from 2003 to 2007 where he continued his highly successful football and wrestling careers.
8.
Gian Villante started his first game against Marshall University, as a true freshman, at middle linebacker.
9.
Gian Villante kept his starting role the rest of his first year.
10.
Gian Villante was regarded as a potential NFL linebacker prospect.
11.
Gian Villante wrestled for Hofstra where he became close with NCAA All-American wrestler and future UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman.
12.
Gian Villante made his MMA debut quickly after making the decision to begin MMA training.
13.
Gian Villante defeated MMA veteran Randy Durant by quickly drawing a TKO due to a nasty cut.
14.
Gian Villante then flew through his next few opponents, only once having it last through the first round.
15.
Gian Villante quickly was the top Heavyweight contender in Ring of Combat.
16.
Gian Villante got his shot and after defeating Strikeforce veteran Mike Cook for the vacant Ring of Combat Heavyweight title, Villante was touted as a legit MMA prospect.
17.
Gian Villante made his Light Heavyweight debut at Ring of Combat XXIX with aspirations on becoming a champion in two weight classes.
18.
However Gian Villante lost by TKO after breaking his elbow and moved back up to heavyweight.
19.
On January 11,2011, it was announced that Gian Villante had signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.
20.
Gian Villante was quickly thrown into a Heavyweight Grand Prix Reserve bout on short notice.
21.
Gian Villante made the decision to drop back down to light heavyweight.
22.
Gian Villante began to tire and eventually Larkin went on to win a unanimous decision.
23.
Gian Villante was criticized for not sticking to a wrestling game plan.
24.
Gian Villante's next fight was against Trevor Smith on the preliminary card of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine on January 7,2012.
25.
Gian Villante quickly attacked Smith catching a leg strike four seconds in.
26.
Gian Villante held onto the leg and began landing numerous unanswered right hands, prompting referee Kim Winslow to stop the fight at 1:05 of the first round.
27.
Gian Villante continued his win streak with a unanimous decision victory over Derrick Mehmen.
28.
Gian Villante was credited by announcer Frank Shamrock for his improved standup and his endurance during the fight.
29.
Gian Villante was scheduled to fight undefeated Guto Inocente on the Strikeforce: Melendez vs Healy main card.
30.
The article featured Gian Villante explaining how he was extremely upset about the cancellation, but focused more on how Gian Villante was finally able to eat, after his grueling ordeal to make weight.
31.
Gian Villante took a short notice bout, replacing Robert Drysdale against Cody Donovan on November 16,2014, at UFC 167.
32.
Gian Villante won the fight via TKO in the second round, earning his first official UFC victory.
33.
Gian Villante was expected to face Anthony Perosh on June 28,2014, at UFC Fight Night 43.
34.
Gian Villante was expected to face Corey Anderson on December 6,2014, at UFC 181.
35.
However, Gian Villante pulled out of the fight citing an injury.
36.
Gian Villante faced Tom Lawlor on July 25,2015, at UFC on Fox 16.
37.
Gian Villante faced Anthony Perosh on November 15,2015, at UFC 193.
38.
Gian Villante won the fight via knockout in the first round.
39.
Gian Villante next faced Ilir Latifi on March 5,2016, at UFC 196.
40.
Gian Villante was briefly linked to a bout with Marcos Rogerio de Lima on November 12,2016, at UFC 205.
41.
In turn, Gian Villante is expected to face Patrick Cummins the following month on December 9,2016, at UFC Fight Night 102.
42.
Gian Villante won the fight via TKO in the second round.
43.
Gian Villante faced Mauricio Rua on March 11,2017, at UFC Fight Night 106.
44.
Gian Villante lost the fight via TKO in the third round.
45.
Gian Villante faced Francimar Barroso on January 20,2018, at UFC 220.
46.
Gian Villante fought Sam Alvey on June 1,2018, at UFC Fight Night 131.
47.
Gian Villante fought Ed Herman on October 27,2018, at UFC Fight Night 138.
48.
Gian Villante lost the fight via TKO due to a body punch early in the first round.
49.
Gian Villante was expected to face Mike Rodriguez on July 13,2019, at UFC Fight Night 155.
50.
However, on July 4,2019, Gian Villante pulled out of the event for an undisclosed reason and was replaced by John Allan.
51.
Gian Villante faced Maurice Greene on June 27,2020, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs Hooker.
52.
Gian Villante lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the third round.
53.
Gian Villante faced Jake Collier on December 5,2020 at UFC on ESPN 19.
54.
Gian Villante fought Chris Barnett on November 6,2021 at UFC 268.
55.
Gian Villante lost the fight via TKO in round two after getting knocked down via a spinning wheel kick.
56.
Gian Villante announced his retirement after the fight, and planned to return to football as a coach.
57.
Gian Villante and his long-time girlfriend Katie have a son, Gianluca, who was born in December 2019.