What a speech by Chris Barnett for his
opponent Gian Villante
#UFC268 pic.twitter.com/wvTtzChIOP— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
November 6, 2021
Gian
Villante has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts
following a 31-bout professional career that began in 2009.
Villante’s final appearance will end up on highlight reels, as he
was dropped by a spinning wheel kick from Chris
Barnett and finished with follow-up ground strikes 2:23 into
the opening round of their heavyweight bout at UFC 268 on Saturday
night at Madison Square Garden in New York. Villante, 36, ends his
tenure on a four-bout losing streak — with his final three
appearances coming in the heavyweight division.
Villante’s next step will be a return to his gridiron roots, as he
is coaching youth football in the Long Island area. He gave those
players a shoutout in a post-fight interview with
Newsday.
“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 said. “Thank you all so much for the support and for
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 clear as could be that’s the next thing I want
to be doing.”
A former NCAA All-American linebacker at Hofstra University,
Villante primarily made his mark in MMA at 205 pounds, compiling a
10-3 mark in Strikeforce and Ring of combat before signing with the
UFC. The Bellmore, N.Y., native would go 7-11 within the Las
Vegas-based promotion, earning notable wins over the likes of
Corey
Anderson, Sean O’Connell and Ed Herman.
“It was a fun ride,” Villante told Newsday. “I enjoyed it, whatever
the result.”