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MMA retirements are infamous for not lasting very long, but this one may have been equal parts quick and sad to learn. Just one week after calling it a career for the second time just last week, former UFC heavyweight title challenger Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has changed his mind and wishes to keep on fighting.
Bigfoot Silva just retired last week
Although the Brazilian did make an announcent just last week on his official Instagram, he apparently got the itch again just days later. However, Bigfoot’s speech did hint that his heart may have not been fully set on retiring, given the way he worded it, even after a career that goes back 19 years now.
“It was a great fight,” Silva said following the event on Instagram Live. “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.”
Now Bigfoot wants a rematch against his last opponent
Most recently, Bigfoot Silva had been fighting for French promotion Kingdom Fighting, and that’s the company he addressed in a in a new Instagram post, in which the Brazilian announced his return. In his last outing, the 43-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to heavyweight Salim El Ouassaidi back on June 10, but feels like he did enough to warrant a nod from the judges.
For that reason, Silva is now looking for a rematch against Ouassaidi in his return from retirement.
“Let’s do a rematch, Kingdom Fighting,” Silva wrote. “I’m ready and I’m coming back from retirement to fight again because I know I didn’t lose. Let’s go”
Silva has also hinted at a possible move to slap fighting
Before Silva even announced retiring from MMA, he also considered the idea of jumping on UFC president Dana White’s new trend of slap fighting, too. Though the Brazilian did not mention the Power Slap brand per se, he did post a picture of his hand on his personal Instagram, with a caption that left little to interpretation.
“There is not a human being on worth that could survive my slap.” Silva wrote back in January of this year.
Bigfoot Silva has suffered 15 KO losses in his career
Bigfoot Silva (19-15-1 NC) is currently on an 11 fight losing skid across MMA, kickboxing, boxing and bareknuckle boxing, with nine of those defeats coming by way of knockout. Overall, the 43-year-old suffered 12 KO losses in his MMA career, one in kickboxing, one in boxing, and one in bare knuckle boxing.
During his career, the Brazilian shared the cage with some of the most notable heavyweights of his time, including memorable wins against Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne. Silva’s most recent victory dates back to August 2015, when he knocked out Soa Palelei at UFC 190.
Silva also suffered losses to other well-known athletes, such as Fabricio Werdum, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, to name a few.
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