Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Maurice Greene and Gian Villante faced each other in a Heavyweight bout tonight (Sat., June 27, 2020) at UFC on ESPN 12 from inside UFC APEX from Las Vegas, Nevada. In a strange finish, Greene submitted his foe.
Greene opened the bout with rangy strikes, kicking at the knee and jabbing. A kick from Villante is checked, and he ate an elbow on the counter. Villante continued to stalk, looking for openings. Another big elbow connected for Greene, then a hard front kick. Greene knocked his opponent out of stance with a low kick. Villante landed his first glancing right of the fight then a few good low kicks. Big head kick blasted through the guard of Villante, but he stood up to it. Villante dug into the lead leg again. Greene returned the favor. Villante landed a solid body kick that backed his foe off for a moment. The two traded kicks near the bell.
Greene successfully stayed long with jabs and kicks early. Villante just missed on a big right hand swing. Greene put together a solid combination and landed well. Greene flashed the jab often. Greene jammed more oblique kicks to the thigh and mid-section, then Villante dug a hard low kick. Greene stung his foe with a couple good straight punches. Greene’s legs began to bother him from the low kicks. Villante landed a glancing high kick! Another chopping low kick from the New Yorker. Good front kick scored from Greene. Left hook counter connected for Villante. Villante went back to attacking the lead leg with good success near the bell.
Greene opened the third with a knee to the mid-section, but Villante answered with a clean right hand. After a pause due to an eye poke, Villante surged forward and dropped his foe with a big hook! Villante took top position and started dropping heavy blows. He moved into mount, but Greene was able to escape back to half-control. The fight slowed down after Villante’s sprint towards the finish. Out of NOWHERE, Greene wrapped up an arm triangle from his back and squeezed, securing a finish that definitely should not have worked!
Oh, Heavyweight MMA, you are such a strange mistress. This fight was sloppy and weird, and just as Villante really started taking over, he somehow fell into a bizarre meme choke/neck crank.
What is there to say?
Result: Maurice Green defeats Gian Villante via third-round submission
To check out the latest and greatest UFC on ESPN 12: “Poirier vs. Hooker” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here and play-by-play results right here.