Few mixed martial arts (MMA) fans blamed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for releasing veteran Antonio Silva back in October. The former heavyweight title challenger had lost six out of his previous eight Octagon appearances and looked like a shell of his former self at 37 years of age.
In his first appearance since parting ways with UFC earlier this year, Silva dropped a three-round decision to Ivan Shtyrkov earlier today (Fri., Nov. 18, 2016) at RCC Boxing Promotions in Yekaterinburg, Russia. After a back-and-forth first round, Shtyrkov nearly finished the Brazilian via vicious ground-and-pound in the second. Silva would eventually recover to come back and decisively win the final frame. However, Shtyrkov's efforts proved too much on the judges' scorecards, capturing a unanimous decision win in his most high-profile bout to date.
For full fight video highlights click here.
With this loss, Silva extends his current MMA losing streak to four. The hulking heavyweight simply hasn't looked the same since losing a bloody UFC title fight opposite Cain Velasquez in 2013. Following this loss to Shtyrkov, "Bigfoot" will find it difficult to stay relevant in the MMA spotlight.