After his first fight at Madison Square Garden, veteran UFC heavyweight Gian Villante says he’ll call it a career.
Villante, who at UFC 268 faces Chris Barnett, announced to Newsday he will retire following the pay-per-view event on Saturday in New York City.
The 36-year-old New Yorker has lost his past three fights and is 7-10 overall in his eight-year octagon career. A holdover from the now-defunct Strikeforce, Villante holds wins over current Bellator light heavyweight title challenger Corey Anderson and The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Ed Herman.
Lately, Villante has focused his efforts on education as he took a job as a substitute teacher, also coaching 8th grade football and targeting another coaching job on the school wrestling team.
Barnett returns to the octagon after a debut loss to vet Ben Rothwell at UFC Vegas 27 in May.