Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, UFC Mutually Part Ways

Mike SloanOct 21, 2016

It looks as though veteran heavyweight Antonio Silva will never fight in the Octagon again.

Silva last fought in September at UFC Fight Night 95 where he was battered and eventually stopped in the second courtesy of Roy Nelson. The bout marked the final one of his contract and according to a report on MMAJunkie, “Bigfoot” and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (current odds) mutually agreed to go their separate ways.

The news of their parting should come as no surprise to anybody who follows mixed martial arts. Since Silva scored an upset win over eventual UFC title challenger Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 in February 2013, the mighty Brazilian has fallen on hard times. A draw with former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt followed a first-round knockout loss to Cain Velasquez and from there, the losses mounted like a snowball rolling downhill.

Silva lost five times in his last six bouts inside the Octagon and his loss to “Big Country” was his third consecutive setback. Granted, all but one of the losses since the Overeem came against former world champions, but in the eyes of the MMA world, losses are losses.

The notion is that “Bigfoot” might try his luck over in Japan for the new Rizin Fighting Federation promotion.