‘Big Country’ on post-fight kick to referee John McCarthy: “I wouldn’t take it back”

Roy Nelson scored a thunderous knockout over pal Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva on Saturday night, but ‘Big Country’s’ post-fight kick to referee John McCarthy ended up stealing the show.

Nelson booted McCarthy moments after the fight ended in the second round after what ‘Big Country’ perceived to be a very late stoppage.

“I didn’t want to hurt ‘Bigfoot’ more than I had to. And I got taken by the moment, because it’s like I’m beating the sh*t out of somebody and you’re like, dude, enough is enough. And for me, it hurt my feelings. And I apologize to Big John, but I wouldn’t take it back. It just hurt me, that I’ve got to keep on hitting a guy that doesn’t need to be hit.”

He continued:

“It wasn’t like he] was so far away. He was over here to my side, and I know I had a conversation. I’m like, he’s out. He’s like, ‘no he’s not, keep on moving.’ So for me, I feel like I’m giving ‘Bigfoot’ extra damage, where he doesn’t actually need to get hit that much.”

Nelson floored ‘Bigfoot’ with a massive uppercut, and followed him to the ground with some nasty ground-and-pound as referee John McCarthy looked on. While ‘Big Country’ expressed some contrition over the kick, he was adamant in the fact that the fight should have ended when Silva hit the floor.

Nelson and ‘Bigfoot’ are actually friends outside of the cage, with Silva even offering to take out ‘Big Country’ for Brazilian barbeque following their fight. In fact, the two heavyweights had roles in the film ‘The Scorpion King 4’ back in 2014.

‘Bigfoot’ (19-10) has now lost six of his last eight fights, with all six losses coming by way of brutal knockout. The Brazilian heavyweight was tight-lipped about any talk of retirement, although with all the knockout losses Silva’s sustained lately, his future with the promotion seems unclear at the moment.

How do you feel about ‘Big Country’s’ post-fight kick to the referee? Do you agree that the fight should have been stopped sooner? Sound off in the comments section, PENN Nation!