Former UFC Veteran Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva retires from MMA competition following 11th straight loss
Former UFC and Strikeforce veteran Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva has finally decided to call it a career.
Silva was in action for Kingdom Fighting 1 recently. He took on Salim El Ouassaidi. Silva was hoping for his first win since August 2015, but it wasn’t meant to be. Silva had been on the receiving end of some brutal finishing losses going into this fight. He wasn’t stopped in his bout with Ouassaidi, but “Bigfoot” was defeated via decision.
After the fight, Silva took his gloves off and laid them down the middle of the cage. He later took to his Instagram account to reveal he is “100 percent” done with pro MMA competition.
Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has officially laid down his gloves and retired from MMA 👍 #MMA
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) June 11, 2023
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva Speaks On Retiring
Here’s what the former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion had to say about the loss and the end of his career during a live stream on social media (h/t MMAFighting.com):
“The fight ended just now, and thank God it was a great fight,” Silva said on a live stream on Instagram. “It was three rounds, and I’m very happy. I fought a 25-year-old guy and I’m 43 in my last fight, and I’m very happy.”
Silva appears to be happy with the way he went out. He also insists he’s fulfilled and at peace with his decision.
“It was a great fight,” Silva continued. “We tried the knockout all the time, he and I, and in the end I retired. I put down my gloves in the center of the octagon. To me, everything has a beginning and an end, and I’m very happy and satisfied. We never want to stop, no professional athlete wants to stop, even in volleyball or football, but everything has a time, and I did this for 19 years.”
Antonio Silva has fought a slew of top names throughout his career. He’s faced the likes of Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, Mark Hunt, and Andrei Arlovski. “Bigfoot” scored a massive win over Fedor Emelianenko back in 2011. Few can forget Silva’s highlight reel knockout over Alistair Overeem back in 2013.
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