Antonio Silva (fighter)

Antonio Silva
Born	September 14, 1979 (1979-09-14) Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
Other names	Bigfoot, Pezão, Junior
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	264+1⁄2 lb (120.0 kg; 18.9 st)
Division	Heavyweight (265) (2005–present) Super Heavyweight (2005–2006)
Reach	82 in (208 cm)
Style	Karate, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo
Fighting out of	Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
Team	Team Nogueira X-Gym Blackzillians
Rank	black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in Judo black belt in Karate
Years active	2005–present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	19
Wins	16
By knockout	11
By submission	3
By decision	2
Losses	3
By knockout	2
By decision	1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Antonio Silva (born September 14, 1979) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He initially fought in the super heavyweight division, but currently competes in the heavyweight weight class. He is the first and last EliteXC heavyweight champion. Silva holds notable wins over former world champions Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez.

Mixed martial arts career

He has competed in organizations such as Hero's, BodogFight and Elite Xtreme Combat (where he was heavyweight champion), and currently fights for Strikeforce and Sengoku.

Club affiliation

Antonio Silva began his career representing the Wolfslair MMA Academy in 2005 located in the United Kingdom. In 2006, he departed from the team after his bout with Tadas Rinkevicius. The Wolfslair gym requested to Silva's instructor Mario Neto for Silva to leave the team and return to Brazil. The gym claims Bigfoot owed them over £20,000, however, Silva states that they owed him a total of £6,000 in fighter purses after two fights in which he was promised £3,000 for each fight. After training with Brazilian Top Team in the meantime, Antonio Silva would then join as an official member of American Top Team located in Coconut Creek, Florida. Silva is also a member of the Imperial Athletics gym in Boca Raton, Florida where he spent his fight camp training for his bout with Fedor Emelianenko in the quarterfinal round of the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament.

EliteXC

On February 10, 2007, Silva made his EliteXC debut at EliteXC: Destiny against UFC veteran Wesley Correira. Silva won the bout by TKO due to strikes in the first round. He followed his performance up by defeating Jonathan Wiezorek at EliteXC: Renegade by rear naked choke in the first round. His next victory was attained by defeating former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez.

On July 26, 2008, Silva won the EliteXC Heavyweight title with a second round TKO over late UFC veteran Justin Eilers. Silva later tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone, and was suspended for 1 year and fined $2500.00 by the California State Athletic Commission. According to Silva's manager, the positive test results for boldenone was caused by his use of Novadex, a testosterone-booster that Silva uses to counteract the low testosterone levels caused by his acromegaly. "He has to treat it", said Alex Davis. "He spends between $6,000 and $8,000 a month just on medicine for it. He needs to be able to keep fighting to make a living. If it's between Antonio's health and pleasing the athletic commission, we have to choose his health."

Sengoku

Soon after his positive steroid test in California, Silva signed on to fight at Sengoku 7. He was advised not to fight in Japan by the California State Athletic Commission, however he ignored this request, and continued to claim that he had not used steroids. Despite pressure from the California State Athletic Commission and his peers, on January 4, 2009, Silva stepped into the ring against Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao, at Sengoku 7 in Japan. Silva won an anticlimactic bout by TKO when his opponent suffered a knee injury in the first round.

At Sengoku 10 he fought Jim York, where he won by submission in the first round. With both fighters looking tentative on the feet, Silva took his opponent down once but was stood up by the referee. Later in the round, he took York down again, assuming the half-guard position, and landing some effective hammer fists and punches until moving for an arm triangle choke which he secured when he gained the side control position, securing his victory.

Strikeforce

On November 7, 2009, Antonio Silva was handed the second loss of his career, a decision to Fabricio Werdum at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. After dominating the first round, Bigfoot reportedly fractured his left hand in the beginning of the second round.

Silva defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski on May 15, 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. He won the fight via decision.

He was scheduled to fight Valentijn Overeem on Dec. 4, but Overeem suffered an injury that caused him to withdraw from the fight. Overeem, was replaced by Mike Kyle. Silva was dropped in the first round by a punch from Kyle but ultimately managed to survive Kyle's ground and pound and recover. In the second round, Silva acquired the mount on Kyle and forced a TKO stoppage.

Silva defeated Fedor Emelianenko in the Quarter final of the 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament by means of doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. While he was expected to meet Alistair Overeem in the Semi-Finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Overeem withdrew from the fight in order to attend to an injured rib. Alistair Overeem was later replaced by one of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament alternates Daniel Cormier. Silva then fought Daniel Cormier and lost by a surprising upset by KO (Punches) at 3:56 of round 1.

UFC

On January 7th 2012, PRIDE and UFC veteran Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira revealed to Portal do Vale Tudo that Silva had signed a UFC contract, and was rumored to make his promotional debut against Cain Velasquez but that has been proven to false. Although his debut is likely for April, a date and opponent have not been confirmed.

Championships and Accomplishments

• Cage Rage
  • Cage Rage World Heavyweight Championship (One Time, Last)

• Cage Warriors
  • Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Championship (One Time)

• EliteXC
  • EliteXC Heavyweight Championship (One Time, First, Last)

• Strikeforce
  • 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinalist

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
19 matches	16 wins	3 losses
By knockout	11	2
By submission	3	0
By decision	2	1

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	16–3	Daniel Cormier	KO (punches)	Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov	02011-09-10 September 10, 2011	1	3:56	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States	Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal
Win	16–2	Fedor Emelianenko	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva	02011-02-12 February 12, 2011	2	5:00	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal
Win	15–2	Mike Kyle	TKO (punches)	Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II	02010-12-04 December 4, 2010	2	2:49	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	14–2	Andrei Arlovski	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery	02010-05-15 May 15, 2010	3	5:00	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Loss	13–2	Fabricio Werdum	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers	02009-11-07 November 7, 2009	3	5:00	Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States
Win	13–1	Jim York	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10	02009-09-23 September 23, 2009	1	3:51	Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win	12–1	Yoshihiro Nakao	TKO (knee injury)	World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009	02009-01-04 January 4, 2009	1	1:42	Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win	11–1	Justin Eilers	TKO (knees and punches)	EliteXC: Unfinished Business	02008-07-26 July 26, 2008	2	0:19	Stockton, California, United States	Won inaugural EliteXC Heavyweight Championship. Tested positive for boldenone post-fight.
Win	10–1	Ricco Rodriguez	Decision (split)	EliteXC: Street Certified	02008-02-16 February 16, 2008	3	5:00	Miami, Florida, United States
Win	9–1	Jonathan Wiezorek	Submission (rear-naked choke)	EliteXC: Renegade	02007-11-10 November 10, 2007	1	3:12	Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win	8–1	Wesley Correira	TKO (punches)	EliteXC Destiny	02007-02-10 February 10, 2007	1	3:49	Southaven, Mississippi, United States
Loss	7–1	Eric Pele	TKO (punches)	BodogFight: USA vs. Russia	02006-12-02 December 2, 2006	1	2:40	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win	7–0	Georgy Kaysinov	KO (punch)	Hero's 7	02006-10-09 October 9, 2006	1	1:08	Yokohama, Japan
Win	6–0	Tom Erikson	TKO (punches)	Hero's 5	02006-05-03 May 3, 2006	1	2:49	Tokyo, Japan
Win	5–0	Tadas Rimkevičius	TKO (punches)	CWFC: Strike Force 5	02006-03-25 March 25, 2006	1	3:22	Coventry, England
Win	4–0	Ruben Villareal	TKO (punches)	CWFC: Strike Force 4	02005-11-26 November 26, 2005	1	3:07	Coventry, England	Won Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Championship
Win	3–0	Rafael Carino	TKO (corner stoppage)	Cage Rage 12: The Real Deal	02005-07-02 July 2, 2005	1	2:55	London, England	Won Cage Rage World Heavyweight Championship
Win	2–0	Marcus Tchinda	Submission (punches)	CWFC: Strike Force	02005-05-02 May 2, 2005	1	3:03	Coventry, England
Win	1–0	Tengiz Tedoradze	TKO (punches)	UKMMAC 10: Slugfest	02005-03-06 March 6, 2005	1	0:48	Essex, England

See also

• List of current Strikeforce fighters

External links

• Professional MMA record for Antonio Silva (fighter) from Sherdog

Achievements
New championship	1st Elite XC Heavyweight Champion July 26, 2008 – October 20, 2008	Incumbent
New championship	1st Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Champion November 26, 2005 – present	Incumbent
Vacant Title last held by Ian Freeman	3rd Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion July 2, 2005 – October 20, 2008	Incumbent