Antonio Silva scored a ruthless knockout to earn his lone UFC title shot in February 2013.
The Brazilian heavyweight, who is affectionately known as ‘Bigfoot’, was a massive underdog when he took on Alistair Overeem two months after ‘The Demolition Man’ had brutally stopped Brock Lesnar in his sensational promotional debut.
Overeem was on an 11-fight winning run and seemed destined to fight Cain Velasquez for UFC gold.
All he had to do was get by Antonio Silva, but he ripped up the script in the third round of their fight.
Antonio Silva annihilated Alistair Overeem
Overeem didn’t think Silva was on his level, and he made that very clear during the bitter build-up to their fight.
The Dutch fighter’s superiority complex appeared to carry itself into the bout as he spent the majority of round one walking into striking distance with his hands down – but he did enough to win the five-minute frame by connecting with some good knees to Silva’s body.
Overeem scored an easy takedown 30 seconds into round two. Silva did well to defend himself, and he even landed some eye-catching shots from the bottom, but he spent so long on the floor that he also dropped the second round.
Everything changed at the start of the third frame as the two heavyweights decided to swing for the fences.
Silva got the better of the initial exchange and backed Overeem up against the cage wall where he landed 14 consecutive punches to score a sensational upset knockout just 25 seconds into the final round.
Referee Herb Dean tried to drag the massive heavyweight away but he ran back towards Overeem and began shouting at his stricken foe after getting revenge for all the pre-fight trash talk.
Silva’s career peaked in this moment, which was enough to earn him a shot at MMA’s greatest prize.
Unfortunately, Velasquez made it look easy as he stopped Sillva in 81 seconds to defend his belt at UFC 160 in May 2013.
‘Bigfoot’ suffered disaster UFC debut
Silva’s title loss to Velasquez was unsurprising because they had fought before and it was utterly one-sided.
In December 2012, Velasquez’s first reign as UFC champion was brutally ended by Junior dos Santos.
‘Cigano’ shocked the world and embarrassed Velasquez by knocking him out in just 64 seconds.
An immediate rematch made no sense, so the 9-1 American welcomed Silva to the UFC instead.
A loss like the one Velasquez suffered against Dos Santos usually takes years to live down, but the heavyweight legend managed to do it by bludgeoning ‘Bigfoot’ in a three-minute demolition job.
The UFC 146 co-main event started with Silva making a grave mistake he was unable to recover from.
A sloppy leg kick allowed Velasquez to easily take his opponent down to the floor. Once there, the 42-year-old MMA icon immediately began firing away with rapid ground and pound.
Silva, who owns a BJJ black belt, was able to slow down his opponent until he connected with a clean elbow that cut him wide open. After that, Velasquez hammered away until ‘Bigfoot’ was surrounded by a pool of blood.
There was a brief break in the beating as the cageside doctor checked the gash. Unfortunately for Silva, the fight continued and he was mercilessly beaten until he could take no more.
Referee Josh Rosenthal finally waved off the contest when a blood-soaked Silva turtled up as his 240lb rival dropped bombs on him.
Velasquez got his belt back seven months later, while Silva had to prove he was a top contender.
‘Bigfoot’ never won a world title, but he’ll always be remembered for putting Overeem in his place.