Learn Italian: Ci vogliono molti anni per affrontare un combattimento senza paura. - It takes many years to face a fight without fear.

The verb volerci (to take / to be necessary) agrees with the thing that is needed, which acts as the grammatical subject. Because molti anni (many years) is plural, the verb must be the plural vogliono. If it took only one year, you would use the singular: ci vuole un anno.

Why do we need the word per before affrontare?

When you use volerci to state how much time or effort is required to achieve something, you link it to the action using per + infinitive. While English simply says "to face", Italian literally frames it as needing many years in order to face a fight.

Is affrontare the only way to translate "to face" here?

Yes, affrontare is the correct verb when you mean "to confront" or "to deal with" a situation, danger, or enemy (like un combattimento). You cannot translate "to face" literally with a word based on "faccia" (face) in this context.

Why is there no definite article before paura?

When using the preposition senza (without) with an abstract concept in a general sense, Italian typically drops the definite article. Therefore, it is just senza paura, exactly mirroring the English "without fear".