Chris Tognoni, Michael Buffer, Jake Collier (©UFC)

Jake “The Prototype” Collier, 32, of Cuba, Missouri, United States was one of the winners at “UFC on ESPN 19,” also known as “UFC Vegas 16.” It was the American mixed martial artist’s fourth victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring eight MMA matches, “UFC Vegas 16” took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 5, 2020. In the first bout of the evening, Collier fought Gian Villante, 35, of Bellmore, New York, USA in the heavyweight division.

Chris Tognoni served as the referee. After three five-minute rounds, the lightweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges namely Sal D’Amato, Eric Colon and Adalaide Byrd, who all scored it 30-27 in favor of the winner.

In the end, Tognoni raised the hand of Collier. The Missouri native was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

Winning at “UFC Vegas 16” improved the professional MMA record of Collier to 12 wins and 5 losses. It was the second time he won a UFC fight via unanimous decision.

On the other hand, Villante now has 17 wins and 13 losses. He is now riding a three-bout losing streak.

Seven countries were represented at “UFC Vegas 16” namely Brazil, Georgia, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and the U.S. Collier and Villante were two of the nine fighters who represented the host country.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 23,1988, Collier was 20 years old when he started his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training to lose weight. He has been competing professionally as an MMA fighter since 2010.

Collier joined the UFC in 2014. The first three opponents he defeated in the promotion were Ricardo “Demente” Abreu, 36, Alberto Emiliano “Uda” Pereira, 36, and Marcel “Maozinha” Fortuna, 35, who are all from Brazil.

As an amateur MMA fighter, Collier had 12 wins and 2 losses. Before joining the UFC, he competed in Rumble Time Promotions, Fight Me MMA, Cage Championships and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.