Ilir Latifi (Esther Lin, MMA Fighting)Ilir Latifi vs. Gian Villante Added to UFC 196 in Las Vegas José Youngs January 29, 2016 News, Spotlight, UFC On Friday morning, UFC officials announced fight between hard hitting light heavyweights Ilir Latifi and Gian Villante had officially been added to UFC 196 (formerly UFC 197) in Las Vegas. Villante (14-6) is coming of a violent first round knockout over the recently retired Anthony Perosh at UFC 193 in November. This got the former Hofstra University lineback back into the win column after he had his lights turned out in second round of his matchup against Tom Lawler at UFC on FOX 16 in July. He will enter the bout with a UFC record of 4-3. Latifi (11-4) is currently riding the most impressive win streak of his career. In his most recent contest Latifi walked away with a 28-second knockout over Sean O’Connell at UFC Fight Night 81 earlier this month in Boston. Prior to this performance, fans saw Swedish fighter finished Hans Stringer just 56-seconds into their contest in July. To date, all four of Latifi’s UFC wins have ended in the first round, with three coming by way of (T)KO. UFC 196 is currently scheduled to take place March 7 in Las Vegas. A lightweight title fight between reigning champion Rafael dos Anjos vs. featherweight champion Conor McGregor will serve as the main event. A women’s bantamweight title fight between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will also take place on the carx