Levittown's Gian Villante scores KO win in Australia

Gian Villante made clear his plan for fighting Anthony Perosh at UFC 193 Saturday night in Melbourne, Australia.

"Make it a Gian Villante fight," the Levittown-based fighter said earlier in the week. "I'm going to make it my fight and make him feel my power."

He did just that. Villante landed a powerful straight right hand flush to the face of Perosh, who dropped to the canvas at the 2:56 mark of the first round. It was, as the phrase goes in mixed martial arts, a one-hitter quitter.

"That was the first straight right I threw," said Villante, a light heavyweight who set up the walkoff knockout with a left jab. "The rest were all looping ones."

He added, "I wanted to get a quick finish so I could watch some reality TV. The TV in Australia is much more educated. Perosh kept leading with the right, so I wanted to counter hook or throw a right. The hook wasn't landing, but I hit him with the right and it landed right on the button. Now I really want to get home and watch Vanderpump Rules."

Villante (14-6, 4-3 UFC) connected on several powerful shots throughout the first round that staggered Perosh, a native of Australia who had the record crowd at Etihad Stadium overwhelmingly on his side.

Villante mixed in several overhand rights, a short uppercut and a high leg kick. Perosh (15-10, 5-7) barely connected with any significant strikes.

All athletes say they learn from their losses, but rarely is it obvious the next time they compete. Villante, 30, was the exception. In his last fight in July, he dominated Tom Lawlor for much of the bout, except for the one punch that mattered most. He made a mistake, got caught and got knocked out in the second round.

"I got a little one-sided, one-minded that I wanted to do one thing, and it cost me," he said of the Lawlor fight. "One mistake, it hurts you in this sport."

Against Perosh, Villante made no mistakes. He exhibited excellent control and pacing as he walked down Perosh and picked his shots. With each exchange and subsequent pulling back, the lesson learned was obvious.

"This is an improvement," Villante said, "but I know I got a long way to go."

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.