Former Hofstra University wrestler Gian Villante set to fight Saturday on ESPN+

Another weekend, another UFC fight card. This weekend it’s UFC Fight Night 145: Prague in O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic.

There will only be one fighter stepping into the octagon Saturday night with a background in wrestling. That man is Gian Villante.

Villante is set to battle Michal Oleksiejczuk from Poland in the light heavyweight division.

In high school, Villante posted a 43-3 record and earned a New York state title his senior year while competing for MacArthur High School in Levittown, N.Y. Villante also placed fifth at the 2003 NHSCA Senior Nationals.

After high school, Villante went on to wrestle for head coach Tom Ryan at Hofstra University in 2004.

Despite wrestling at the Division I level, Villante really thrived on the football field at Hofstra, where he was a Division I-AA All-American linebacker. After he went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft, Villante decided to pursue a career in MMA.

Villante has been competing in the UFC since 2013 and will be taking a 17-10 professional MMA record into the octagon with him.

Villante will be fighting in the third fight on the main card of Saturday’s fights, which will air on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET.

Last weekend recap

Between Bellator 215 and UFC on ESPN 1, there were plenty of former wrestlers turned MMA fighters competing last weekend.

Three former wrestlers stepped into the cage at Bellator 215.

Former University of Minnesota All-American Logan Storley was the co-main event at welterweight. The Gopher won by unanimous decision in dominating fashion over Ian Pascu.

At 175 pounds, 2012 NAIA National champion Austin Vanderford won via arm-triangle choke submission in 4:49 of the first round against Cody Jones.

Pat McCrohan, a former Johnson & Wales University wrestler, won by TKO in 1:11 over Jason Markland in the first round at middleweight.

At UFC on ESPN 1, the success continued for wrestlers while fighting on the prelims. Former wrestlers Aljamain Sterling and Nick Lentz both won by decision. Sterling defeated Jimmie Rivera, while Lentz took out Scott Holtzman.

Highlighting the main event of the night was former Iowa Central Community College and Arizona State University wrestler Cain Velasquez, who was stopped by Francis Ngannou just 26 seconds into the fight.