Bigfoot had to be pulled off of Overeem by referee Herb Dean. (UFC publicity photo)
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva broke the MMA-betting bank last Saturday when he beat Alistair Overeem at UFC 156.
A heavy underdog, the Brazilian shrugged off the naysaying and knocked out the Dutch odds-on favorite early in the third round, a win that put him in the top five in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
In the aftermath of his triumph, a number of names were raised in speculation regarding his next opponent, but the Giant from Paraiba, Brazil is still unsure of whom he will be facing. Bigfoot makes it abundantly clear, however, that if he had his druthers it would be the divisional champion, Cain Velásquez, who defeated him last May at UFC 146.
“If I had to pick an opponent, it would be Cain Velasquez,” Silva said. “When we fought, I practically didn’t get a chance to fight. This would be a great rematch, even if it’s not for the belt. I really respect Cain, but it would be a great fight for me professionally.”
Bigfoot added that he learned from his loss to the heavyweight champion. Even if the UFC is mentioning Daniel Cormier as a possible challenger to Velasquez’s throne, Bigfoot still hopes to again face the champ, saying that this time the outcome will be different.
“I learned a lot from that loss [and] I feel I’ve become a much better fighter since that fight,” he said. “I ended up making the mistake of not sticking to the game plan my trainers put together for me, and I paid for it. Going into the fight focused and with the right strategy, the outcome of a rematch could be really different.”
For more UFC and MMA coverage,
visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section
