Gian Villante vs. Chad Griggs

Highly-touted prospect Gian Villante(7-1) will make his Strikeforce debut against Lashley-killer Chad Griggs(9-1) at Strikeforce 31.

This will be the 3rd alternate bout named for the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight tournament.

Villante has jumped back and forth between 205 and heavyweight throughout his young career, and his future is likely at light heavyweight, which makes it a bit surprising he has decided to sign on for this tournament. Villante is fully capable of being a future top 10 fighter in the 205-division, but “future” is the word that needs to be emphasized. He’s hardly ready to jump into a fight with Alistair Overeem or Fedor Emelianenko if called upon. Bellator would have been a much safer option for Villante to continue his development, but the opportunity to fight the best in the world doesn’t come along often.

Griggs is a bigger heavyweight, whose claim to fame is his recent win over former WWE star Bobby Lashley. Griggs is rather limited in his overall skill-set especially striking, where Villante should hold a huge advantage.