Maurice Greene took home a win over Gian Villante with a stunning submission from the bottom position late in the third round of their main card bout.
With his back to the wall after two straight losses, TUF 28 alum Maurice Greene was set to welcome Gian Villante to the UFC’s heavyweight division Saturday. Their main card fight at UFC on ESPN 12 was Villante’s first heavyweight scrap since an appearance way back in the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, in an alternate bout.
Greene opened up the round with a front kick to the body to keep distance. He followed up with an elbow on the inside and quickly circled out. Greene utilized short low kicks and kicks to the body in an attempt to keep Villante at bay. Villante was extremely patient, looking to get in the pocket in order to unload one of his patented power shots. An accidental low blow from Greene temporarily stopped the action. When action resumed, Greene continued his low kick approach.
Villante ate a hook on the top of the back of his head but responded with several leg kicks. A big head kick from Greene was blocked by Villante, but it moved Villante quite a bit. Villante got off a nice inside leg kick. Villante stunned Greene a bit with a body shot that visibly hurt Greene. Villante’s lead leg showed the results of having it battered by Greene for the first four minutes of the fight. The round came to a close off a blocked head kick from Greene.
Greene started the second round with a nice kick to the body, but Villante responded with a hard leg kick. A big counter hook from Villante just missed, and Greene responded with a big uppercut and knee. Greene did really well fighting at distance as Villante struggled to get the fight inside the pocket. Villante unloaded a huge leg kick of his own before beginning to walk down Greene, who exploded forward with a combination to back him up.
Greene caught Villante with a hook, shot to the body, followed by another hook to end a nice combination. Villante landed another leg kick, which seemed to hurt Greene. Villante caught Greene with a big head kick while Greene was blocking low. Another front kick to the body landed for Greene, who followed up with a jab. Villante timed a nice lead hook off the jab and continued to attack Greene’s leg. The round came to a close with Greene circling out and jogging away from Villante.
The third round started off with a clinch that was immediately separated. Villante connected with a big right hand but Greene circled away when Villante rushed forward. An accidental eye poke from Greene temporarily stopped the action. Greene resumed action with a leg kick, but Villante countered with a huge shot that dropped Greene. Villante swarmed on top for the ground-and-pound, and what relentless ground-and-pound it was. Punches and elbows reigned down from the former linebacker, but Greene continued to attempt to fight his way back to his feet. Villante remained in top position in Greene’s half guard, but apparently, Greene was choking Villante from the bottom, and he tapped out.
Official Result: Maurice Greene def. Gian Villante via R3 submission (arm-triangle choke, 3:44)
WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! 🤯@TheCrochetBoss submits Villante w/ just a minute to go!
📺 Action concludes on @ESPN. #UFCVegas4 pic.twitter.com/ziU21wwTUI
— UFC (@ufc) June 28, 2020
