There is a report from Portal do Vale Tudo that former Strikeforce fighter, and Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinalist, Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (16-3) is set to make his UFC debut this coming April, and when he finally does step into the Octagon, the opponent staring back at him from the other side will be none other than former UFC champ Cain Velasquez (9-1).
Unfortunately I do not speak Portuguese, so I’ve had to use Google Translate what was written.
I’m not sure if it was simply poorly written, or Google Translate was having a fit with the translation, but it basically says the signing and opponent for Silva was confirmed to them by UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and that ‘Bigfoot’s manager, Alex Davis, would only confirm that his fighter was set to step into the Octagon this April, but not against who.
Silva is recovering from shoulder surgery to repair some damage he suffered following his Grand Prix semifinal loss to finalist Daniel Cormier last September. Before that the Brazilian scored the biggest win of his career by earning a second round TKO (doctor stoppage) victory over Fedor Emelianenko in the Grand Prix quarterfinals last February, earning ‘Bigfoot’ his third straight win.
Velasquez suffered the first loss of his career, losing to Junior dos Santos in November in their UFC on FOX 1 heavyweight title bout. Previous to that he earned seven straight wins in the Octagon including six (T)KO finishes and one victory by decision.
If this rumor proves to be true, I just don’t understand how Silva could warrant a fight versus Velasquez for his first Octagon bout, especially with Velasquez coming off a title loss. Is this supposed to be a No. 1 contender bout, because a win for ‘Bigfoot’ should technically earn him one.
The result of the Heavyweight Grand Prix likely has something to do with all of this with who gets matched up against who. Best I can guess is the winner of a Velasquez vs. Silva bout gets to face the winner of the Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier bout for the No. 1 contender spot.
I guess time will prove me right or wrong on that one.