Following an impressive knockout victory over ex-Strikeforce champ Rafael Cavalcante at UFC on FUEL 10 Saturday night, it was inevitable Thiago Silva was going to get called out sooner than later.
However, he probably wasn’t expecting a challenge from his former teammate/recent heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva.
Shortly after Thiago finished “Feijao,” here’s what “Bigfoot” tweeted in Portuguese:
O Tiago pesa 105 kg ele é peso pesado etem q baixar d peso,temos uma divida a resolver,ele poderia aceitar 1 luta comigo no peso pesado.
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) June 9, 2013
The Strikeforce import says he has a “debt to settle” with Thiago, arguing that a heavyweight fight is fair since the fellow Brazilian cuts down from 230 pounds to make the light heavyweight limit of 205 pounds.
Speaking through an interpreter at the UFC on FUEL 10 post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting), Thiago Silva offered an explanation for the bad blood and welcomed the Bigfoot match up…as long as it takes place at light heavyweight.
“He must be sad because I left American Top Team, but if he wants to fight me he has to come down to 205. That’s it,” he said.
Thiago Silva stands 6’1″ with a 75-inch reach, while Antonio Silva is 6’4″ tall and boasts an 82-inch reach.
Bigfoot is also known to shed some weight in order to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit, so a light heavyweight bout with anyone seems flat out impossible.
Thiago Silva’s main card victory over Cavalcante earned him both “Knockout of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors, good for a cool $100,000 in bonus money.
Due to failing post-fight drug tests, Thiago is just 1-1(2) in his past four bouts, though he decisively beat both Brandon Vera and Stanislav Nedkov prior to the wins being overturned.
While the matchup would be pointless from a ranking standpoint, does anyone think Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Silva would be a fun fight to watch?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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