Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American

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 ...

who previously fought in the heavyweight division of 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 ...

. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

Background

Villante attended

MacArthur High School (Levittown, New York) MacArthur High School is a public high school located in Levittown, New York. One of two high schools in the Levittown Union Free School District, the school is named after United States General Douglas MacArthur. As of the 2018–19 school ...

and was part of the Class of 2003. During his junior year, he placed third in the New York State Wrestling Championships. He followed this up his senior year by winning the New York State Championship at the 215-pound weight class. Villante also earned all-American honors following a 5th-place finish in the 215 lbs weight class at the 2003 NHSCA senior national wrestling tournament. Villante was equally accomplished in football, in which he received the 2002 Thorpe Award winner as the top football player in Nassau County, also the Bill Piner Award as the top linebacker in Nassau County and was named to the High School Heisman All-Star team. Villante drew interest from major Division I schools, such as Penn State and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Villante chose to stay home and committed to Hofstra University. Villante attended Hofstra University from 2003 to 2007 where he continued his highly successful football and wrestling careers. Villante started his first game against

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: ...

, as a true freshman, at middle linebacker. Gian kept his starting role the rest of his first year. The following season Villante was named a 2004 1st Team Defensive I-AA All-American by

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...

. He was regarded as a potential NFL linebacker prospect. The New York Giants, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

all expressed interest in Villante. Villante wrestled for Hofstra where he became close with NCAA All-American wrestler and future UFC Middleweight Champion

Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

Mixed martial arts career

Ring of Combat

Villante made his MMA debut quickly after making the decision to begin MMA training. He defeated MMA veteran Randy Durant by quickly drawing a TKO due to a nasty cut. Villante then flew through his next few opponents, only once having it last through the first round. He quickly was the top Heavyweight contender in Ring of Combat. He got his shot and after defeating

veteran Mike Cook for the vacant Ring of Combat Heavyweight title, Villante was touted as a legit MMA prospect. Villante made his Light Heavyweight debut at Ring of Combat XXIX with aspirations on becoming a champion in two weight classes. However Villante lost by TKO after breaking his elbow and moved back up to heavyweight. After an extended recovery from his wrist injury, Villante had a highlight reel KO win over Joseph Reyes.

Strikeforce

On January 11, 2011, it was announced that Villante had signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. Villante was quickly thrown into a Heavyweight Grand Prix Reserve bout on short notice. His opponent would be

Chad Griggs Chad Griggs (born May 15, 1978) is former American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC's Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also formerly competed for the Tucson Scorpions of the IFL ...

in one of three heavyweight grand prix reserve bouts at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva. In which many people called the fight, the "Fight of the Night." He lost the fight via TKO in the first round on a referee stoppage. Villante made the decision to drop back down to light heavyweight. In his next bout, Villante would take on undefeated prospect

Lorenz Larkin Lorenz Larkin (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, Larkin formerly competed for Strikeforce and the Ulti ...

on June 24, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry. After repeatedly taking down Larkin and easily taking the first round, Villante appeared to be suffering from his dramatic weight cutting. Villante began to tire and eventually Larkin went on to win a unanimous decision. Questions began to swirl as to whether or not Villante could effectively complete a Three Round Fight. He was also criticized for not sticking to a wrestling game plan. In his next fight, Villante took on Keith Berry in the Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte preliminary card. Despite the crowd's jeers, and multiple stand ups, Gian continually took down Berry and went on to win the fight unanimously on the judges scorecards. Villante's next fight was against Trevor Smith on the preliminary card of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on January 7, 2012. Gian quickly attacked Smith catching a leg strike four seconds in. After landing several clean punches and knees on the ground, both stood up. The two trade strikes for about thirty seconds, when Villante once again caught a Smith kick and took him down. 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. Gian continued his win streak with a unanimous decision victory over

Derrick Mehmen Derrick Mehmen (born May 30, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division for the Titan Fighting Championships. A professional competitor since 2006, Mehmen has also made appearances in S ...

. This was part of the Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier undercard seen on Showtime Extreme. Gian was credited by announcer

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) an ...

for his improved standup and his endurance during the fight. Mehmen had visible bruising on his thighs from the multiple leg kicks landed by Villante. Gian was scheduled to fight undefeated

Guto Inocente Carlos Augusto "Guto" Inocente Filho (born May 29, 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently signed to ONE Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Inocente formerly competed for the UFC and S ...

on the Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy main card. The entire card was canceled due to headliner

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...

suffering an injury. Without the main event,

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

canceled the entire event. Gian was featured in Newsday shortly after the announcement. The article featured Gian explaining how he was extremely upset about the cancellation, but focused more on how Gian was finally able to eat, after his grueling ordeal to make weight.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In January 2013, the Strikeforce organization was closed by its parent company Zuffa. A list of fighters scheduled to be brought over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was released in mid-January and Villante was one of the fighters listed. For his UFC debut, Villante faced fellow promotional newcomer

Ovince St. Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

on April 27, 2013, at

UFC 159 ''UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background Jimy Hettes was expected to face Steven Siler at the event; however, Hettes was forced out of the bo ...

. The fight ended in unusual fashion as St. Preux accidentally poked Villante in the right eye with his thumb and referee Kevin Mulhall immediately called an end to the fight after Villante indicated that he could not see. As a result of the injury, the fight went to the judges' scorecards and St. Preux won a majority technical decision (30–28, 30–29, and 29–29). Villante took a short notice bout, replacing

Robert Drysdale Robert Lewis Drysdale (born October 5, 1981) is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under Léo Vieira, a retired mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ academy, "Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu". Havi ...

against Cody Donovan on November 16, 2014, at

UFC 167 ''UFC 167: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 16, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Background The event commemorated the organization's 20th anniversary. The main event was a ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the second round, earning his first official UFC victory. For his third fight with the promotion, Villante faced

Fábio Maldonado Fábio Rogério Maldonado (born 17 March 1980) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the light heavyweight division of Fight Nights Global. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, he has also ...

on March 23, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 38 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 38'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 23, 2014, at the Ginásio Nélio Dias in Natal, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by the anticipated remat ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Villante was expected to face

Anthony Perosh Anthony Perosh (born 5 October 1972) is a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Perosh was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and ...

on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 43. However, Perosh was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by

Sean O'Connell Sean O'Connell was a Gaelic football manager and player who featured for the Derry county team in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and was on the Derry side that finished runners-up to Dublin in the 1958 All-Ireland Championship – winning a ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Their performance earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Villante was expected to face Corey Anderson on December 6, 2014, at

UFC 181 ''UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II'' was a mixed martial arts event held on December 6, 2014, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by a Middlew ...

. However, Villante pulled out of the fight citing an injury. Anderson remained on the card against Justin Jones. The bout with Anderson eventually took place on April 18, 2015, at

UFC on Fox 15 ''UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 15'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 18, 2015, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was the sixth event that the UFC has hosted in New ...

. Villante won the fight via TKO in the third round. The fight also earned him his second ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Villante faced

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is best known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Cham ...

on July 25, 2015, at UFC on Fox 16. Despite controlling the first round with strikes, Villante lost the bout via knockout early in the second round. Villante faced

on November 15, 2015, at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

. Villante won the fight via knockout in the first round. Villante next faced

Ilir Latifi Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in S ...

on March 5, 2016, at

UFC 196 ''UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held on March 5, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was officially announced in November 2015 as "UFC 197," taking place on March 5, 2016 at HS ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Villante was briefly linked to a bout with

Marcos Rogério de Lima Marcos Rogério de Lima (born May 25, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, and was a co ...

on November 12, 2016, at

UFC 205 ''UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In what was described by UFC president Dana White as t ...

. However, Villante pulled out of the fight on September 21 citing a minor injury and the bout was scrapped. In turn, Villante is expected to face Patrick Cummins the following month on December 9, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 102 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 102'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 9, 2016, at Times Union Center in Albany, New York Background This event w ...

. Subsequently, Cummins pulled out of the fight on December 2 citing a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...

. He was replaced by promotional newcomer

Saparbek Safarov Saparbek Dibirovich Safarov (russian: Сапарбек Сафаров; born 14 October 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who competes in the light heavyweight division. He competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial art ...

. Villante won the fight via TKO in the second round. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' for their performance. Villante faced

Maurício Rua Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a forme ...

on March 11, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round. A rescheduled bout with Patrick Cummins eventually took place on July 22, 2017, at

UFC on Fox 25 ''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Backgroun ...

. Villante lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Villante faced

Francimar Barroso Francimar Barroso (born 29 February 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has also competed for the UFC, Shooto, and Professional Fighters League. Mix ...

on January 20, 2018, at

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curren ...

. He won the fight via split decision . Villante fought

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly co ...

on June 1, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 131 ''UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 131'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 1, 2018, at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York. Background ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Villante fought

Ed Herman Edward Benson Herman (born October 2, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Herman was a finalis ...

on October 27, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 138 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 138'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on October 27, 2018 at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Villante faced

Michał Oleksiejczuk Michał Oleksiejczuk (born February 22, 1995) is a Polish mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2014, he was the former Thunderstrike Fight League Light heavyweight champion in Poland. He currently competes in the middleweight di ...

on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145. He lost the fight via TKO due to a body punch early in the first round. Villante was expected to face Mike Rodriguez on July 13, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 155 ''UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 155'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 13'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 13, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento ...

. However, on July 4, 2019, Villante pulled out of the event for an undisclosed reason and was replaced by John Allan. Villante faced Maurice Greene on June 27, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. He lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the third round. Villante faced

Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...

on December 5, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 19 ''UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 19'' and ''UFC Vegas 16'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 5, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enter ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Villante fought Chris Barnett on November 6, 2021 at

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterwe ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in round two after getting knocked down via a spinning wheel kick. Villante announced his retirement after the fight, and planned to return to football as a coach.

Personal life

Villante is Italian American. He and his long-time girlfriend Katie have a son, Gianluca, who was born in December 2019.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (Three times) *Ring of Combat **Ring of Combat Heavyweight Championship (One time) **Ring of Combat Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) * MMAJunkie.com **2015 April Fight of the Month vs. Corey Anderson

Football

High school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

**2001 All-Section VIII Linebacker **2001 All-Long Island Linebacker (Sect VIII&XI) **2002 All-Section VIII Linebacker **2002 All-Long Island Linebacker (Sect VIII&XI) **2002 Piner Award (Best Linebacker – Section VIII – Nassau County) **2002 Thorpe Award (Best Football Player – Section VIII – Nassau County) **2002 1st Team All-New York State **2002 1st All-Metro Team (Lower NY-Upper NJ) * College football **2004 2nd Team Defensive All-Atlantic 10 **2004 1st Team Defensive I-AA All-American **2006 1st Team Defensive All-Atlantic 10 **2007 1st Team Defensive All-Colonial Conference

Wrestling

High school wrestling Scholastic wrestling, also known in the United States as folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling wi ...

**2002 Section VIII Nassau County Champion (215 lbs) **2002 New York State 3rd Place (215 lbs) **2003 Section VIII Nassau County Champion (215 lbs) **2003 New York State Champion (215 lbs)

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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, KO (punch) , UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:27 , Chicago, Illinois, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Corey Anderson , TKO (punches) , UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:18 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

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Las Vegas 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 Vegas ...

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Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kent, Washington, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:49 , East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Joseph Reyes , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Demetrius Richards , TKO (arm injury) , Ring of Combat 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mike Cook , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Marcelo Pereira , KO (punch) , Ring of Combat 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:59 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Rob Wince , KO (head kick) , Ring of Combat 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:25 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Joe Abouata , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Paul White , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Randy Durant , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Ring of Combat 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villante, Gianpiero Living people 1985 births American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from New York (state) Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Heavyweight mixed martial artists American sportspeople of Italian descent People from Wantagh, New York Hofstra Pride football players People from Levittown, New York People from Bellmore, New York Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York