Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva
Heavyweights Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (17-4) and Alistair Overeem (36-11, 1NC) are expected to meet inside the Octagon this February as part of the upcoming UFC 156 pay-per-view event.
This is a bout that fans would have very likely seen as part of the Strikeforce Grand Prix but failed to come about after a falling out between the promotion and Overeem occurred. So instead of facing ‘The Reem’, Silva stepped in against eventual tournament winner Daniel Cormier.
Now the two will get that chance to face one another inside the cage and ‘Bigfoot’ is already talking trash saying his opponent can start out as a “lion” but reverts to a kitten when pressured.
“They improved his technical abilities, gave him strength, gave him muscles, but no one can give you that thing which you are either born with or you are not – the fighter’s spirit, the warrior heart. This is something no one teaches, no one can give you it,” he told SporTV in his native Brazil.
“I know that when he is put under pressure he will step back, he will break and he will think twice. When he is doing the hitting he is a lion but when you lay a hand on him, when things get riskier for him, he becomes a cat. This is the psychological angle we are working on.”
(Translated quote via Fighters Only)
Overeem is currently under suspension for a failed drug test this past March. He will have to pass another drug screening in order for this UFC 156 matchup to happen, but with UFC officials booking the fight it appears they are fairly confident that he will pass.
UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar is expected to take place on Super-Bowl weekend on February 2, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.