The stars aligned and the two would meet up twice at Nationals. Once in the NCAA quarterfinals and one final time in the third-place match.
In his freshman season, Piccininni would give the Hawkeye legend enough hell to invoke the most viral of interviews from Gilman, including a challenge to take the physicality into the parking lot. It may be the lasting memory of the event between the two, but what wasn’t caught on camera was Piccininni’s hunt for Gilman that night to take him up on his offer.
“Funny thing about that, later that day, after him saying that, it’s funny, after NCAAs we go out,” Piccininni said. “The guys celebrate. If you All-American and you do well, you go out and celebrate with your team and I actually went out looking for him. It was me and Kyle [Crutchmer]. We actually went out looking for him, and funny enough, we ran into his dad and he came up and said nice things about me. He was a good dude.”
RELATED: Piccininni Compares His Skills To UFC Stars | Piccininni Was Made For The Spotlight | Jacobe Smith Is A Cowboy For Life
Meeting Gilman’s dad would ultimately mark the end of Piccininni’s hunt for the man who challenged him hours earlier, and for Piccininni close the door on the rivalry. Unfortunately for him, the couple month stretch in his first season would leave an impact on the sport and rivalry as big as his pin over 125-pound legend Spencer Lee.
At the time, Gilman left the situation appearing to be the odds-on favorite if the two were to have met in the parking lot. He went 3-0 against Piccininni in wrestling on the season, was older and had more experience, but a different picture is painted now with Piccininni looking to push his MMA record to a perfect 4-0.
“He’s a lot of talk; he’s all talk,” Piccininni said. “He talks a lot, which isn’t bad. It’s what he’s known for. He’s a good wrestler, silver World medalist, Olympic medalist, his wrestling accolades speak for themselves, but he talks about fighting a lot. You don’t fight.”