Two of the biggest heavyweights in MMA will collide Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 95, as Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva meets Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
For Silva, the bout is a chance to get back on track after losing two straight and four of his last five. The Brazilian has recorded just one win since a 2013 knockout of Alistair Overeem.
“Roy Nelson is a tough opponent, a guy who has proved to withstand many strikes and who has a heavy right hand,” he said. “I respect him a lot, we are friends, I even helped in his training for the fight against Overeem. He really likes to fight on his feet, but in his last fight, against Derrick Lewis, he proved to be able to take the fight to the ground. Because of that, I tried to train for everything to be prepared: wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu.”
Once a challenger for the UFC heavyweight title, Silva has suffered back-to-back first round knockout losses to Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt. He was also finished by Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski around a second round TKO win vs. Sao Palelei in 2015.
“I don’t know what can happen, but I am sure it will be a great fight,” Silva said.
