Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva talks to GracieMag.com Photo by Josh Hedges
Antonio Silva didn’t have much time to celebrate his knockout of Alistair Overeem in his last fight in the UFC. As a gift, the Brazilian got the chance to fight for the heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez in UFC 160 on May 25 in Las Vegas.
In an exclusive interview with GracieMag.com, Silva (18-4), spoke about his trajectory in the UFC, the dream of fighting the heavyweight title, the Overeem provocations before UFC 156, the conversation he had with his friend Junior dos Santos and many other subjects.
The fighter, recently sponsored by Pretorian, talked with us at the company’s headquarters.
Listen to the whole chat (in Portuguese) or read the highlights of the interview.
The first fight with Cain Velasquez
“Against Velasquez I didn’t use the strategy I should use. I was very excited, and paid for my mistake. What has changed (from the first fight) is my thought, my head. I have several motivations for this fight.”
Camp for UFC 160
“I’ll start my preparation in Rio, at Team Nogueira, the flag that I advocate, but my camp will be at American Top Team. They have good wrestlers there and for this fight that’s what I will need. I have to take this type of training. Besides, I work better near my family”.
Big Foot vs Daniel Cormier
“Yes, I would certainly like to have a rematch against Daniel Cormier. I want to have the opportunity to face the best, always”.
Blackzilians
“In fact, I was never really a member of Blackzilians. But when I knew that Overeem would be a member of Blackzilians I decided to leave. Nothing personal.”
What has changed with UFC 156
“Some people sent me a messages: ‘Sorry, I didn’t believe, I didn’t think you would win, but you gained a fan.’ That motivates me to train harder and to seek the victory. In the end, this time I made him (Overeem) respect me. Now he will respect me.”
Fight with friends Fabricio Werdum and Junior Cigano
“They are different situations and different friendships. We never want to fight with a friend, but I fight for my family, people who rely on my support.”
Werdum or Minotauro Nogueira in “TUF”?
“Minotauro. Minotauro is my godfather!”
Dream after the belt
“Having another kid.” (Bigfoot is already father of 2 girls)
—
Written by Lilian Caparroz
