‘Bigfoot’ Silva vs. Soa Palelei official for UFC 190

Soa Palelei will face the biggest challenge of his career in Rio de Janeiro.

The Australian heavyweight is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 190, on Aug. 1, against former UFC title challenger Antonio Silva. The UFC announced the match-up following reports from The West and Combate.

Silva (18-7, 1 no-contest), the most experienced opponent Palelei has ever fought in MMA, has his back against the wall going into this fight. “Bigfoot” hasn’t won a fight since back-to-back TKO wins over Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem in 2012 and 2013, suffering three first-round knockouts in his past four bouts and testing positive for elevated testosterone levels after a draw with Mark Hunt.

Palelei (23-4), on the other hand, just bounced back to the win column with a second-round knockout over Walt Harris in November, following a decision loss to Jared Rosholt. “The Hulk” is 4-1 with four stoppage victories since returning to the UFC in 2013, finishing Ruan Potts, Pat Barry and Nikita Krylov in the Octagon.

UFC 190 takes place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and features UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey versus undefeated contender Bethe Correia in the main event. The other match-ups already official are Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua and Stefan Struve vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Soa Palelei will face the biggest challenge of his career in Rio de Janeiro.

The Australian heavyweight is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 190, on Aug. 1, against former UFC title challenger Antonio Silva. The UFC announced the match-up following reports from The West and Combate.

Silva (18-7, 1 no-contest), the most experienced opponent Palelei has ever fought in MMA, has his back against the wall going into this fight. “Bigfoot” hasn’t won a fight since back-to-back TKO wins over Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem in 2012 and 2013, suffering three first-round knockouts in his past four bouts and testing positive for elevated testosterone levels after a draw with Mark Hunt.

Palelei (23-4), on the other hand, just bounced back to the win column with a second-round knockout over Walt Harris in November, following a decision loss to Jared Rosholt. “The Hulk” is 4-1 with four stoppage victories since returning to the UFC in 2013, finishing Ruan Potts, Pat Barry and Nikita Krylov in the Octagon.

UFC 190 takes place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and features UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey versus undefeated contender Bethe Correia in the main event. The other match-ups already official are Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua and Stefan Struve vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.