When tonight's (Sat., June 8, 2013) UFC on FUEL TV 10: "Nogueira vs. Werdum" fight card at the Paulo Sarasate Arena in Fortaleza, Brazil, was put together it was decided some added star power was needed sandwiched between all the Ultimate Fighter alums. That's why the light heavyweight battle between Thiago Silva and Rafael Cavalcante was added to the show.
It also marked Silva's return to action after failing his drug test following his win over Stanislav Nedkov (since changed to a No Contest) and Cavalcante's long awaited Octagon debut.
As expected, the two exchanged heavy punches, with Silva throwing a few more kicks and "Feijao" working a stiff jab mixed in with some impressive body work. It looked like the Strikeforce veteran was cruising early but he started gassing rather quickly, or at least that's how it appeared.
After landing a sick spinning elbow, the strikes simply lost much of their luster.
Silva, meanwhile, turned it on. Noticing his opponent was visibly fading in a hurry, Thiago let loose with his hands, each punch seemingly doing more damage than the one before it. Once he got Cavalcante up against the fence, it was only a matter of time before a big enough shot slipped through the defense and ended the fight.
Sure enough, with roughly 30 seconds remaining in the opening frame, "Feijao" collapsed under the strength of a hard right hand. And that was all she wrote.
Now let's hope no one fails a post-fight drug test.
For complete UFC on FUEL TV 10 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.