Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva has defended himself against claims that he is risking his health by continuing to compete despite suffering a string of knockouts
Silva’s record over the past four years makes for a difficult read.
In ten fights over that period, Silva has lost 8 – with 7 coming by way of KO/TKO. While the 37-year-old former UFC challenger is reluctant to hang up his gloves, there are many who would feel better if he did.
“Critics will always exist and we have to know how to deal with them,” Silva recently told MMA Fighting. “Sometimes they don’t even mean to criticize you, but they are just jealous [that] they wanted to be a professional fighter and don’t have that talent. I was always a humble person – I came from a humble family in Paraíba and competed around the world, and some people don’t accept that.”
Silva’s next fight will be a massive test against Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven, a man who has beaten the best in the game. Despite the task ahead of him, Silva believes that it is not the foregone conclusion many would like to believe it is:
“It’s a heavyweight fight and anything can happen,” Silva added. “I respect Rico; he’s the champion, but when I step into the ring anything can happen.”
