Sports

Mixed Martial Arts

Gian Villante

Mark La Monica

Gian Villante wanted to win his final fight, for all the reasons you’d expect: the satisfaction of victory, a nice ending to a long career and the extra paycheck. 
But there was another reason. He wanted to give a shoutout to his football players, the 8th graders at Salk Middle School and the varsity players at MacArthur High School in Levittown. 
The first part didn’t happen, though, as Villante lost by TKO to Chris Barnett at UFC 268 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The second part, though, he made sure that happened. 
"Say hello to all my Seahawks, all my Generals, all the people in attendance, all the guys watching at home, I love you all," Villante told Newsday backstage after the fight. "Thank you so much for all the support and reintroducing me to something I didn’t realize how much I missed. I love it. Thank you for helping me find the next path. Coaching those guys made it as clear as could be that’s the next thing I want to be doing." 
Villante retired from MMA on Saturday night and will pursue teaching and coaching. He is finishing the remaining few credits for his degree from Hofstra in June. He started coaching this past season. 
But on Saturday night, there was the matter of one last fight. One last go-round. 
"It was a fun ride," the Levittown-raised Villante said. "I enjoyed it, whatever the result." 
Barnett (22-7) landed a spinning wheel kick that sent Villante to the mat in the second round. He then moved in and punched his way to a TKO as referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the heavyweight bout at the 2:23 mark. Villante (17-14) got back to his feet right after the stoppage and was in good spirits as his career came to an end. 
"You don’t see too many 265-pound guys throwing spinning kicks. Credit to him," Villante said. Cool way to go out, at MSG. No regrets." 
Barnett was the first fighter on the early prelims to be interviewed inside the octagon by Joe Rogan. Barnett used much of that time to praise Villante and build him after losing his retirement fight in front of a home crowd. 
"My biggest show of respect is taking my moment and giving it to someone else," Barnett said in his post-fight news conference. 
"Real classy," Villante said to Barnett when they crossed paths backstage. 
"That made a huge difference, even for me," said Chris Weidman, Villante’s longtime friend and cornerman. 
The two have known each other since they wrestled in high school nearly two decades ago. They came up together in wrestling and again later in mixed martial arts. 
"Just thinking about our whole careers, I started to get emotional," Weidman said about the locker room before the fight. "I cried twice." 
Villante said he didn’t get too emotional before the fight. 
"Chris was trying to get me emotional all week," said Villante, who was in good spirits backstage after the fight as he said his goodbyes to UFC staffers, officials and the friendly faces built upon 10 years in the promotion.

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UFC 268: Gian Villante ends his MMA career at MSG

Villante's career comes to an end at UFC 268 at MSG

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Levittown's Gian Villante fought for the final time in his MMA career, facing off against heavyweight Chris Barnett at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5, 2021.

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UFC 268 at MSG: Gian Villante vs. Chris Barnett

Fight photos: Gian Villante's final fight at UFC 268

Gian Villante walked into his new home in Levittown and hung on the banister his drawstring bag, the contents of which contained key ingredients to his new life. 
He hugged his fiancée, Katie, checked in with their 22-month-old son, Gianluca, and tended to their two-week-old daughter, Joey. Throw in a few pets of the family dog, Murphy, to complete this portrait of family life. 
Soon afterward, Villante would grab his MMA fighter bag, packed with the tools of his trade for the past 12 years and for which he will need just one more time this Saturday, and head to Bellmore Kickboxing MMA for one of his final training sessions ahead of his heavyweight fight against Chris Barnett at UFC 268. It was his first fight at Madison Square Garden. It was his last fight in the cage. 
"Too much of this stuff, man," the 36-year-old Villante told Newsday recently. "I've been in the UFC for almost 10 years now. So I mean, that's long enough. And that's more than most guys so I'm proud of myself. I lasted that long, but you know, it takes a toll."
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Villante dictated the pace in the first round with his pushkicks, and avoided Barnett's spinning kicks. But in the second round, Barnett landed a spinning wheel kick that dropped VIllante. Barnett then moved in and threw punches until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the bout midway through the second round. 
"He's got the head of a cinderblock," Barnett said about Villante. 
Villante, who trained under Keith Trimble at Bellmore Kickboxing MMA for his entire career, debuted in the UFC on April 27, 2013, losing a technical majority decision after an eye poke against Ovince St. Preux at UFC 159 in New Jersey. Four of his five Strikeforce bouts before that took place under then-UFC parent company Zuffa LLC’s banner. 
"I've lasted a long time, been able to stay in their good graces by taking a lot of punches and being entertaining when I go in there," said Villante, winner of three Fight of the Night bonuses in his career. "I could go and wrestle guys and lay on them and be a boring fighter, but that's not who I am. I like to go out there and slug and have fun and that in turn has given me a 10-year career where I thrived, made a little bit of decent money here, enjoyed myself a lot and enjoyed the whole ride every second of the way." 
Villante entered UFC 268 ranked sixth in UFC light heavyweight history in significant strikes landed with 741. His 84.5% takedown defense ranked fifth in the division, which helps explains why his 1 minute, 20 seconds of bottom position time is eighth-best at light heavyweight. 
His decade in the UFC has taken Villante (17-14, 7-11 UFC) around the world, from Brazil to Australia to the Czech Republic to New Zealand to <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-s-gian-villante-cooks-with-lidia-bastianich-1.13798234">cooking with celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich</a> to guest bartending on a Bravo TV talk show. Not too bad for a kid from Levittown. 
That career — along with two previous years in the regional MMA circuit where he won the Ring of Combat heavyweight and light heavyweight titles plus playing football and wrestling in high school and college — has left Villante in some physical pain. Not debilitating, but definitely more than just the typical "getting old" stuff. 
Still, he wouldn’t change a thing. 
"I don't really walk down stairs too great anymore. The body's taken a beating, man," Villante said. "Between football, and this, and wrestling, it's taken a pretty good beating. But I've enjoyed it. I wouldn't give it back. I'll take this pain for what was given to me."
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The majority of athletes don’t get to make the call on when they walk away from their sport. In this sense, Villante wins. The overwhelming majority of MMA fighters will need to find new employment to support themselves and their families once they retire. In this sense, Villante is on the path to winning. 
His post-fighting career was something he always thought about, and his plan began to take hold earlier this year. Villante returned to Hofstra to earn the remaining credits he needs to earn his bachelor’s degree in physical education.
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"I’m going to graduate Hofstra in June and become a teacher and work with kids," Villante said. "People might say, you know, UFC or NFL or whatever is a dream job. Being a teacher and being able to work with kids every day and go to school in sweats — that's the dream job to me." 
In between training for this fight, and taking three classes at Hofstra, and moving into a new house, and having a newborn, and raising a toddler alongside his fiancée, <a href="https://projects.newsday.com/sports/mma/ufc-long-island-gian-villante/">Villante</a> also coaches the eighth-grade football team at Jonas E. Salk Middle School and assists with the junior varsity and varsity football teams at MacArthur High School, where he won Newsday's Thorp Award as the best football player in Nassau and was a state champion in wrestling. 
So, yeah, he’s a bit busy.
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But on that football field, watching his players improve week to week and enjoy the sport he grew up playing and loving, there’s no sign of Villante feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of transitioning into a new career. 
"Being back there and coaching with these kids, I didn't realize how much I loved and missed football," Villante said. "I'm having so much fun. It’s the best thing in the world. I’m head-butting guys before games, it's great. I'm loving it. And the relationships you build with the kids? Man, I can't tell you. I have so many kids and I'm like, 'Man, I want to hang out with them.' They’re like the coolest kids in the world." 
Did he leave his gloves in the cage at MSG after his fight, a popular and symbolic gesture among MMA fighters as they depart their field of play for the final time? 
"I'm not a show guy. I don't need the attention," Villante said. "I don't want to be popular. I don't care how many Instagram followers I have. My social media consists of my kids and eighth-grade football. I like living in a little bit of silence."<a data-onecms-id="contentid/storywidget.1.50410251" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="#/content/contentid/storywidget.1.50410251">Story Widget Link</a>

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Gian Villante has spent nearly a decade fighting in the UFC, something not every fighter in the promotion can boast.

Gian Villante the UFC fighter

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Gian Villante coaches the eighth-grade football team at Jonas E. Salk Middle School and assists on the varsity and JV teams at MacArthur High School in Levittown. (Photos by Mark LaMonica, Peter Frutkoff)

Gian Villante the football coach

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Levittown's Gian Villante has been an MMA fighter for more than 10 years. His heavyweight fight against Chris Barnett at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, 2021, will be his last fight.


The last walk: Gian Villante to end MMA career at UFC 268

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A fighter's last hurrah: Gian Villante to wrap up career at UFC 268

Villante's plan: From fighter to teacher and coach

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<h3>UFC 268 main card, 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV</h3> 
Welterweight title: Champion <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-kamaru-usman-1.50409962">Kamaru Usman</a> (169) vs. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/mark-la-monica/ufc-268-colby-covington-kamaru-usman-1.50404173">Colby Covington</a> (169.4) 
Women's strawweight title: Champion <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-rose-namajunas-zhang-weili-1.50409361">Rose Namajunas</a> (115) vs. Zhang Weili (115) 
Featherweight: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-shane-burgos-billy-quarantillo-1.50410795">Shane Burgos</a> (145.6) vs. Billy Quarantillo (145.4) 
Bantamweight: Frankie Edgar (135.6) vs. Marlon Vera (135) 
Lightweight: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-justin-gaethje-michael-chandler-three-rounds-1.50411176">Justin Gaethje</a> (155.6) vs. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-michael-chandler-al-iaquinta-frankie-edgar-billy-quarantillo-shane-burgos-1.50410225">Michael Chandler</a> (155.2) 
<h3>UFC 268 prelims, 8 p.m. on ESPNEWS, ESPN+</h3> 
Middleweight: Alex Pereira (185.8) vs. Andreas Michailidis (185) 
Lightweight: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-al-iaquinta-nyc-madison-square-garden-1.50406147">Al Iaquinta</a> (155.8) vs. Bobby Green (155.2) 
Middleweight: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-fun-facts-1.50409914">Phil Hawes</a> (185.4) vs. Chris Curtis (186) 
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan (185.4) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (184.6) 
<h3>UFC 268 early prelims, 6 p.m. UFC Fight Pass, ESPN+</h3> 
Welterweight: Ian Garry (169.6) vs. Jordan Williams (170.6) 
Heavyweight: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-gian-villante-retirement-1.50410249">Gian Villante</a> (260.6) vs. Chris Barnett (263.8) 
Light heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby (203.6) vs. John Allan (205) 
Featherweight: Melsik Baghdasaryan (145.4) vs. Bruno Souza (148.4*) 
Flyweight: C.J. Vergara (127.4*) vs. Ode' Osbourne (125.2) 
* missed weight.

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UFC 268 weigh-in results

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- UFC 268 is the promotion's fifth event at Madison Square Garden since New York legalized mixed martial arts in March 2016. In the first four events -- UFC 205, UFC 217, UFC 230 and UFC 244 -- there have been 46 fights, with seven of those being title fights. Four new UFC champions have been crowned at MSG, plus one BMF "champion." 
- UFC 268 will be the 12th UFC bout for Rose Namajunas, and her sixth championship fight, when she defends the strawweight title against Zhang Weili. That 50% rate for "Thug Rose" is especially impressive considering she lost two of those title fights. 
- <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/mark-la-monica/ufc-268-colby-covington-kamaru-usman-1.50404173">Colby Covington</a> holds the record for most significant strikes landed in a UFC fight with 515. He set that record against Robbie Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5 on Aug. 3, 2019. That’s an average of 103 strikes landed per round, or 20.6 per minute, or one every three seconds. But those are just numbers. Consider it this way: in the time it took you to read this paragraph, you would have been punched in the face approximately six times. 
- Fighters retire and unretire all the time. But Chris Curtis holds the record for shortest retirement. In October 2019, he lost a PFL quarterfinal bout and announced his retirement afterward. But in the PFL playoffs then, there were two fights in a night to reach the championship. When Magomed Magomedkerimov was deemed ineligible to compete in the semifinals that same night, Curtis took his spot and lost to Ray Cooper III. Curtis retired again after fight, only to unretire several months later. His welterweight bout against Phil Hawes on Saturday will be Curtis' sixth since his second unretirement, and first in the UFC. "He is just here to get his fight kit," Hawes said Wednesday. 
- This will be the ninth fight in the UFC for <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-justin-gaethje-michael-chandler-three-rounds-1.50411176">Justin Gaethje</a> and only the second scheduled for three rounds. 
- Early in his MMA career, Gian Villante worked as a bodyguard for Mel Gibson and Jonah Hill when they were on movie sets in New York. 
- <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-al-iaquinta-nyc-madison-square-garden-1.50406147">Al Iaquinta</a> and Bobby Green were scheduled to fight each other in July 2015, but Green withdrew because of an injury. "Raging Al" said he kicked a stationary bike and <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/al-iaquinta-to-fight-gilbert-melendez-in-place-of-injured-bobby-green-on-july-15-1.10555474">broke a picnic table leg</a> when he got that news. Green was replaced by Gilbert Melendez, who was suspended a week before the fight after testing positive for PEDs. Iaquinta was pulled from the card and didn't fight again until April 2017. 
- A win for Kamaru Usman on Saturday would give him five consecutive <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-champions-welterweight-1.26400454">UFC welterweight title defenses</a>, tying him with Matt Hughes for second on that list behind Georges St-Pierre. 
- When Monroe's Shane Burgos enters the octagon to face Ransomville's Billy Quarantillo in a featherweight bout, it will tie Burgos with Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson for the most UFC fights in Madison Square Garden with three. Burgos is 2-0 at MSG -- and 5-0 in UFC events in his home state of New York. Thompson is 1-1-1 at MSG.

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UFC 268 facts and stats and stuff

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Event: <a href="https://www.newsday.com/ufc268">UFC 268</a> 
Date: Nov. 6, 2021 
Location: New York City 
Venue: Madison Square Garden 
Where to watch: ESPN+ PPV, ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass 
Announcers: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier<a data-onecms-id="contentid/storywidget.1.33947823" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="#/content/contentid/storywidget.1.33947823">espn+ subscriber blurb</a>
 
<h3>UFC 268 main card, 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV</h3> 
Welterweight title: Champion Kamaru Usman vs. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/mark-la-monica/ufc-268-colby-covington-kamaru-usman-1.50404173">Colby Covington</a> 
Women's strawweight title: Champion Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili 
Lightweight: Justin Gaethje vs. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-268-michael-chandler-vs-justin-gaethje-1.50408799">Michael Chandler</a> 
Featherweight: Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo 
Bantamweight: Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera 
<h3>UFC 268 prelims, 8 p.m. on ESPNEWS, ESPN+</h3> 
Middleweight: Alex Pereira vs. Andreas Michailidis 
Lightweight: <a href="http://newsday.com/aliaquinta">Al Iaquinta</a> vs. Bobby Green 
Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Chris Curtis 
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Nassourdine Imavov 
Welterweight: Ian Garry vs. Jordan Williams 
<h3>UFC 268 early prelims, 6 p.m. UFC Fight Pass, ESPN+</h3> 
Heavyweight: <a href="http://newsday.com/gianvillante">Gian Villante</a> vs. Chris Barnett 
Light heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby vs. John Allan 
Featherweight: Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Bruno Souza 
Flyweight: C.J. Vergara vs. Ode' Osbourne

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UFC 268 fight card at Madison Square Garden

UFC 268 fight card for MSG

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Gian Villante coverage

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