Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva simply refuses to go away quietly.
Recently announced by MixFight Championship, Silva will be getting back in action for a kickboxing match on Sept. 10, 2022, in Azerbaijan. Standing in the 42-year-old mammoth’s way will be Azerbaijani kickboxing and Muay Thai standout, Zabit Samedov. Samedov, 38, holds a professional record of 102-9-1 and rides a 20-fight win streak, last tasting defeat in 2013 against Badr Hari.
It has been an incredibly rough stretch for the one-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight title challenger since he lasted stepped into the Octagon. “Bigfoot” has lost 10 fights in a row between mixed martial arts (MMA), kickboxing, boxing, and bare-knuckle boxing — nine of which ended via knockout or technical knockout, with the last two coming in the span of one month.
The Brasilia, Brazil native’s last victory came over Soa Palelei at UFC 190 in Aug. 2018, separating a skid that saw him go 0-3 and 1 no-contest. In his career overall, “Bigfoot” has only lost twice via decision and has never been submitted.
Silva has been essentially banned from being licensed in the United States to compete under the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) because of his troubling recent results.
Efforts to keep Silva out of competition have been made by those around him, but clearly, nothing has yet to get through.
“You cannot defend a man from his own self,” Silva’s former manager, Alex Davis, tweeted after his most recent loss. “I did my very best. The plan was for him to stop fighting 8 kos ago. He made the $. I let go at that point, could not be a part of this. But he always goes in with a big heart and never reminisces on a loss.”