Danillo Villefort Heads into WSOF Tournament Fighting for Family As Well As the Title

Fighting is a way of life for the Villefort family.

With a father who had in excess of 200 vale tudo fights, Danillo Villefort continues to represent the family name Saturday at World Series of Fighting 5 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Villefort meets David Branch in the opening round of the organization’s inaugural middleweight tournament at Revel Casino Hotel live on NBC Sports.

Entering the championship tournament fresh off a victory over UFC veteran Kris McCray this past March after a 19-month layoff, Villefort is primed to make a run at his first world title.

“I never had the chance to have the title shot before,” Villefort recently told MMAWeekly.com. “So now I’m going to go with everything I have. It’s not going to go anywhere besides my house. I’m bringing this belt to my house. I’m going to hang it here in my living room so everyone that I bring home can come see my belt. When I fly to Brazil in December to see my son, I want to bring this belt to him too, so that he can see his father is a world champion.”

In order to make his dream come true, Villefort realized he needed adequate time to prepare for the task at hand.

Prior to fighting McCray at WSOF 2, Villefort maintained his full-time employment with Jaco Athletics. However, realizing that he could not maximize his potential in training, Villefort switched things up.

“My last fight, I jumped in the cage only sparring,” Villefort said. “I just sparred and I fought, that’s all I could do. For this time, Glenn (Robinson), my manager and my boss, he gave me more time to train. He see how dedicated I am and how serious I take everything and he gave me more time to train and rest.

“I did everything I could and I’m ready. The results in the fight will be completely different than the last one.  In the last one I was just there fighting, just brawling. I wasn’t technical, I wasn’t explosive or anything. Now you guys better be ready, because there’s going to be a thunderstorm. I’m ready, I’m ready more than ever.”

A founding member of the Blackzilians, Villefort has called south Florida home for the past several years.

In preparation for Branch, “Indio” has honed his skills alongside the likes of younger brother Yuri, Tyrone Spong, Michael Johnson, and a host of talented Blackzilians teammates.

With 14 victories to his credit and having fully dedicated himself to capturing the WSOF middleweight championship, Villefort feels that he is firing on all cylinders prior to facing Branch.

“They’re going to see a crazy (expletive) going for Dave Branch,” said Villefort. “I’m excited for this belt. I’m going to go crazy. They can expect a real exciting fight. I’m not going to play safe; I’m going to finish this fight. If he keeps running around like he does, I’m going to go after him. If he tries to take me down, I’m going to avoid his takedowns, and I’m going to take him down and I’m going to punish him. I’m going to show my pedigree; I have a real Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree.

“My family, we’ve been fighting since 1957. We’re not here for a couple months or a couple years, we’re here since the beginning of the sport, and I’m here to show the world who we are.”

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