Modern Fighting

Greg DeSanctis discusses Danillo Villefort’s submission of Mike Massenzio on May 16th on IFL’s website.

 One of the big surprises to come out of the International Fight League’s most recent event on May 16 was Brazilian Danillo Villefort. He would top New Jersey’s rising star Mike Massenzio with a kneebar submission just 3:25 into the first round.

Riding a nine-fight win streak, Massenzio was heavily favored entering the match and was named to Sports Illustrated’s list of Top 10 Up-and-Comers just days before taking the ring. Villefort, on the other hand, was relatively unknown, especially in the United States as the majority of his previous wins had taken place overseas.   

It was an interesting matchup with Massenzio, an accomplished wrestler, versus Villefort who comes from a long pedigree of jiu jitsu black belts. Both fighters’ strengths played into the other’s weaknesses and it would be a matter of strategy to see who could overcome. Massenzio had the clear size advantage and right from the start, it was obvious that it was his game plan to take the Brazilian to the mat. He would use his power to try and overwhelm him, but he may have overlooked the guiding principle that jiu jitsu was designed for weaker fighters to defeat their larger opponents by basically outsmarting them.   

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