Life outside of the Ultimate Fight Championship began in ernest today for Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-11-1) as he competed for the first time since being released by the promotion.
The 37-year old was released last month after suffering a 2nd round KO at the hands of Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 95. This loss was his 3rd loss in a row and resulted in his 4 and half year stint with the promotion being brought to an end.
In his first fight since his release “Bigfoot” took on Russian prospect Ivan Shtyrkov (5-0) at the RCC Boxing Promotions event which tool place in Yekaterinburg.
After an evenly contested opening round and despite the fight almost being stop in the 2nd round after Shtyrkov hit the Brazilian with a barrage of unanswered blows which could have result in the bout being stopped.
Despite a rocky second round Silva would rally back in the final round against his tiring opponent to finish the stronger but it would be the undefeated fighter who would be awarded the bout on all of the judges scorecards.
Before meeting Bigfoot, Shtyrkov had finished all of his previous professional fights inside the fight round including a 31-second submission victory over Jeff Monson.
