In the third main card bout of UFC 156, Antonio Silva pulled off an improbable comeback and knocked out Alistair Overeem in their heavyweight bout. Overeem controlled the first round with his striking and clinch work, and got a takedown in the second to control that stanza as well. But Silva got up near the end of the round and opened up with his striking a bit. And it was a sign of things to come.
As soon as the third round begin, Silva went on the offensive and started lighting Overeem up. He finally backed him up to the cage with uppercuts and rights, and basically had Overeem out on his feet. One more shot put him away for good, while Silva continued to yell at him. The finish came at 25 seconds of the final stanza.
What was the high point of the fight?
The finish. After watching Overeem give Silva no respect for the first two rounds, witnessing him get lit up and knocked out like that was pretty funny.
Where do they go from here?
Silva is in a weird spot right now. He just took out a guy that was going to get a title shot if he won. It would be logical that Bigfoot should get the same opportunity, but it’s only been eight months or so since champion Cain Velasquez beat him up and finished him in the first round. Could they give him a shot anyway? The only other real option for Cain is a third bout with Junior dos Santos, so Cain/Bigfoot 2 is a real possibility.
Overeem has a lot of crow to eat after that loss. But he’ll continue to get big fights in the UFC no matter what, and if JDS doesn’t get another bout with Cain, the biggest heavyweight fight Zuffa can book right now is Overeem vs. Dos Santos. And it makes sense since they’re both coming off disappointing losses.
Watch now, later, or never?
Now. The first two rounds are really nothing to write home about, but the finish makes up for that in a huge way.
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