Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva Has Been Released from the UFC

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva‘s time in the Octagon has come to an end, as the Brazilian heavyweight and the UFC have mutually agreed not to renew his contract.

Silva’s contract ran its course after a KO loss to Roy Nelson in September.

With this loss, Bigfoot fell to a brutal 1-6-1 in his last seven fights. During that stretch, he was knocked out or TKO’d by Cain Velasquez, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, Stefan Struve and Nelson. His lone win in this difficult run came against Soa Palelei, while the draw occured in an unforgettable battle with Mark Hunt.

Despite this ugly stretch, Bigfoot was once regarded as one of the finest heavyweights on earth.

After coming up short to Cain Velasquez in his UFC debut, he burst directly into title contention with stellar knockout victories over Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem. This led him to his second bout with Velasquez, and his lone title fight in the UFC. This is where the aforementioned rough match began.

Bigfoot’s troublesome run is widely attributed to the UFC’s ban on testosterone replacement therapy, a treatment he legitimately needs as the result of his acromegaly (gigantism).

Prior to his stint in the UFC, Bigfoot was a staple of the Strikeforce heavyweight roster, where he scored wins over Andrei Arlovski, Mike Kyle and most notably, Fedor Emelianenko, and came up short in bouts with future UFC champions Fabricio Werdum and Daniel Cormier.

Despite being 37 years old, there is no indication that Bigfoot’s departure from the UFC will lead to his retirement. Instead, it looks as though he may turn his attention to the Rizin Fighting Federation ring, or to a Russian promotion, where it’s possible that a rematch with Fedor Emelianenko could await.

“I think Bigfoot will probably be out of the UFC and probably go to Rizin [FF] or Russia,” Bigfoot’s manager Alex Davis recently told MMAJunkie.com. 

Should Bigfoot end up in an organization like Rizin FF or Eurasia Fight Nights (EFN), he’d likely be able to begin using testosterone replacement therapy again, which could conceivably lead to a nice resurgence.

Where would you like to see the former UFC heavyweight title challenger fight next? Sound off, PENN nation!