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After being away from in cage fighting for three years, a legend of MMA returns. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva has signed on with the Brazilian organization Taura MMA with a fight in Kissimmee Florida.
Silva's last MMA fight was back in 2017 for FNG. That loss he suffered there closed his career with a 5 fight losing streak, and 8 losses in 10 fights. In seven of those 8 losses by the way Silva was finished. That's a far cry from him tearing through people like he did earlier in his career.
Since then he has tried both Bare Knuckle Boxing and Glory Kickboxing. Silva suffered bad KO losses in both places. If not for Cain Velasquez he may have well gone on to capture UFC gold. As it stands right now, he's on the short list of best to never hold a belt for the company. If not for Cain's teammate and close friend Daniel Cormier he would have held gold in Strikeforce.
The fight on October 30th pits the 40-year-old Brazilian against 26-year-old Brett Martin. Martin was on his way to taking the LFA heavyweight strap but missed weight in their tournament. He is presently on a 5 fight win streak.
This might be a case where the fighter needs to be protected from himself. Such as is the case with fellow UFC legend B. J. Penn. "The Prodigy" lost his last 7 fights in the cage. He's also lost fights in the streets of Hawaii with regular people. Thus finally convincing Dana White to say he'd never book him for a fight again.
The downward spiral for both is eerily similar. Outside of the legal woes that Penn is dealing with of course. Both looked like mere shadows of what they once were. And when they do come into range 2 bad things happen. Their hands are down and their chins are up. Perhaps after this fight, a trusted ally will remind Silva that for the sake of his long term health it might be best to walk away from combat sports all together.
Another American Top Team Brazilian officially locked in his change of sport at almost the same time. Thiago Alves got his opponent for his Bare Knuckle Boxing debut on September 19. The fight against another UFC veteran, Phil Baroni will main event BKFC 13.
