Despite his somewhat inconsistent octagon record, there was one thing one you can’t deny about Gian Villante: The man has an astounding ability to take damage and keep going.
In fact, it had been eight years since an opponent had been able to dispatch Villante (17-11 MMA, 7-8 UFC) in the first round. That is, until Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) came along. And with him, the brutal punch that landed square on Villante’s liver and folded him less than 2 minutes into their UFC on ESPN+ 3 bout.
Most MMA fans have witnessed the power of properly placed body shots before. Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens, anyone? And one would think most have become somewhat accustomed to watching some of the world’s toughest athletes eating heavy shots.
Still, we dare you to watch this particular blow, perfect in its precision and brutality, and not wince even a little bit (via Twitter).
If you’re still not convinced, check out the images below. It takes something to get a notorious slugger like Villante to look like … this.
With the TKO loss declared officially at the 1:34 mark of the first round, Villante’s recent seesaw of results continues. The light heavyweight came into the main card bout off a rare streak of four split-decision calls – the wins over Francimar Barroso and Ed Herman, alternating with losses to Patrick Cummins and Sam Alvey.
The good news is that, after a few seconds of clear pain, Villante was able to get back up and stand in the center of the octagon as the winner was announced. Hopefully, there wasn’t a lot of damage, and we’ll get to see him back sooner rather than later.
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