Danillo Villefort (born August 5, 1983) is a Brazilian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. Villefort has fought for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, WEC,

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

, and

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

fighting in their Middleweight division.

Biography

Villefort was born in Brazil, he was raised in competition, being the son of Vale Tudo legend Francisco "Master Indio" Silva. He was also the god-son of

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...

. Villefort is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and has been doing

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

for over 30 years. Villefort is a founder and was a Judo MMA with the

Blackzilians The Blackzilians was a professional team of fighters in mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling located in South Florida. The team had included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Eddie Alvarez ...

for over 6 years. In 2016 Villefort got bronze medal at the Judo Veterans World Championships in Fort Lauderdale. In 2017 Villefort became Champion at Judo US open at the light heavy weight division.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Villefort was set to face

Jake Rosholt Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach Animals * Jake (rescue dog), a s ...

but Rosholt came down with an injury, the fight would have to be postponed. The WEC then disbanded their middleweight division. Villefort dropped down to 170 and took a fight at

WEC 38 ''WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on January 25, 2009. It aired live on the Versus Network. In the main event, WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner defended his title against undef ...

. He defeated Mike Campbell by TKO in the first round. After the win, the WEC disbanded the welterweight division, Villefort's contract was picked up by the UFC. In an interview conducted with FightLockdown prior to his UFC debut, Villefort stated, “The greatest moment f my careerwould have to be when I was in the IFL, when I fought

Mike Massenzio Mike Vito Massenzio (born November 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He wrestled in New Jersey and was a two-time high school state champion in 2000 (160 lb ...

. At the time I had only recently opened up my first gym and wasn't training enough for that fight. Everyone was saying Massenzio was “gonna kill me”, but I believed in God, in my Judo, and in my Jiu-Jitsu skills, accepted the fight and I did what I did. Massenzio is very strong guy!” When asked about his post-fight celebration which entails firing an invisible arrow at his opponents, Villefort stated that "it is just a way to do tribute for my Dad, he deserves more than that, but when I shoot the arrow I make him happy!”

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Villefort made his debut for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

UFC 101 ''UFC 101: Declaration'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first UFC event held in Philadelphia. The event featured the second ...

against Jesse Lennox. He lost by TKO from a cut, controversial as it was from an accidental headbutt. After the loss, he was released by the UFC.

Post-Zuffa

After being released by the UFC, Villefort signed with upstart promotion, Shine Fights. He was rumored to be fighting Nick Thompson at Shine Fights 3: Worlds Collide, however, the fight never materialized and the event was canceled. When

Drew McFedries Michael Andrew "Drewbie" McFedries (born July 27, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist. McFedries formerly competed for the UFC, Titan FC and Shooto. Background McFedries was born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. His ...

was forced to pull out of his bout with

Joey Villaseñor Joey Simon Villaseñor (born October 17, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1999 until 2012, Villasenor competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, EliteXC, King of the C ...

Shark Fights 13 Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal, Keith Jardin ...

, Villefort stepped in for McFedries on short notice. The bout was contested in the middleweight division, a weight class higher than Villefort's normal weight class. He won via unanimous decision. Villefort next fought

Matt Horwich Matthew Peter Horwich (born October 2, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Horwich has fought in BAMMA, Strikeforce, Bellator, the UFC, and for ...

at Shark Fights 14: Horwich vs. Villefort on March 11 and won the fight by unanimous decision 30-27 on all three of the judges scorecards. In the first round he landed three takedowns and good leg kicks. In the second round, Villefort landed a back elbow which opened a gash under the eye of Horwich and the third round was a similar affair to the first two.

Strikeforce

Villefort was slated to fight

Antwain Britt Antwain Britt (born May 9, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in Strikeforce's Middleweight division. While perhaps best known for his stint with the Strikeforce organization, he also fought in YAMMA Pit Fi ...

at Strikeforce Challengers 16 in June 2011, but both fighters had to drop out due to injury. He instead fought Nate James at Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte on August 12, 2011, in Las Vegas. He lost the another controversial fight via unanimous decision.

World Series of Fighting

Villefort made his WSOF debut at World Series of Fighting 2 against UFC vet

Kris McCray Kris Eric Johannes McCray (born September 24, 1981) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was the runner-up of ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz''. Background McCray was born in Germany to Calvin and Barba ...

. He won by split decision. On May 16, 2013, WSOF announced a 4-man tournament to crown an Inaugural Middleweight Champion. Villefort along with former UFC vets

Jesse Taylor Jesse Marcus Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he was ...

, David Branch, and current MFC middleweight champion

Elvis Mutapčić Elvis Mutapčić (born July 19, 1986) is a Bosnian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight and the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Mutap ...

will be competing in the tournament. Villefort took on David Branch in the opening round at WSOF 5. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

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Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( iow, Chína Ino Šúje pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The headquarters of the Otoe-M ...

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Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jits ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

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Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

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References

External links

*
Archived UFC Profile

WEC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villefort, Danillo 1983 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Living people Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Brasília