‘Bigfoot’ marches on

Antonio ‘Pezao’ Silva is a big man, and his huge stature is matched only by his potential. Known affectionately to UK fans as ‘Junior’, Silva made light work of his toughest challenger to date, steamrollering over the undefeated Lithuanian Tadas Rimkevicius. At 10-0-0, the challenger entered the contest with a string of KO victories in Rings Lithuania, and this was his first contest in the UK.

Though entirely amicable outside the ring, the Brazilian didn’t extend any kind of welcome to the visitor inside it, as he systematically took the challenger to pieces with a display of skill unexpected from a man of his size.

While both men were surprisingly light on their feet, both flicking out jabs to gauge distance, it was Junior who landed first, a stiff jab shocking Rimkevi?ius and setting his downfall in motion. An interesting point to mention is that Silva’s Brazilian nickname ‘Pezao’ means ‘Bigfoot’. Unfortunately for Rimkevi?ius, he got a taste of those giant feet when Junior landed an astonishingly quick and entirely unexpected roundhouse to his head! Having had the privilege of watching Junior train, I knew that this was something he was entirely comfortable in throwing. For a man who stands 6’5 and weighs around 140kgs, this is a remarkable thing to behold.

The power behind the kick further stunned Rimkevi?ius, and as he circled away Junior cut off the cage and rushed in with a takedown. Easily obtaining top position, he began dropping hammerfists that seemed to originate somewhere up in the stratosphere. Those long arms crashed down again and again, the meaty fists finding their target and prompting a stoppage only 3.23 into the first.

Another quick win for Junior got everyone excited. He had passed his toughest test to date with ease, and this prompted plenty of speculation as to his future. The amount of super heavyweights to challenge him are few and far between, and as brining challengers to him seems a near-impossible task, it makes sense that he should look overseas for matches. Rumours abound that his managers are in talks with K-1, though these are unconfirmed and have been circulating since long before this match. Either way, his next move is crucial- if CageWarriors can source another SHW for him to fight, he may well remain. If not, where he might end up is open to debate.

Round Up

In other bouts of interest, Silva’s coach and mentor Mario ‘Sukata’ Neto, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt under the late Carlson Gracie, also managed an easy win over German foe Markus Hipp. The heavyweight took down and pounded out his opponent in only 36 seconds of round one, proving his recovery from a lengthy knee injury is going well and opening up the possibility of some interesting future matches. The heavyweight scene in the UK has been crying out for fresh blood for some time now, and the arrival of Sukata is a good omen.

Norwegian fighter Jakob ‘The Striking Viking’ Lovstad also made a return from a long-standing injury with a tough win over Brazilian Henrique ‘Chocolate’ Nogueira. Suffering from a chronic shoulder injury, Lovstad had been inactive since his last fight on CageWarriors in October of last year (a loss to Chocolate’s team mate and TUF3 participant Mike Bisping). Lovstad proved his rehabilitation was complete by choking the BJJ blackbelt 47 seconds into the third round. Superior conditioning and a smart strategy led to Lovstad’s victory and saw a fine return to form for the Striking Viking.

Scary Swedish fighter David Bielkheden is one of the most intense fighters I have seen in action. Brutally knocking out Steve Dawson in under a minute with some pinpoint accuracy ground and pound, Bielkheden looked impressive at his new fighting weight of 77kgs. A force at welterweight, he has the potential to make waves on the international scene.

Sami Schiavo of France looked impressive in taking out the limited yet durable

Sami Berik. Something of a journeyman among the domestic scene, he flits between light and welterweight depending on what he’s offered, but took his quickest loss to date when Schiavo choked him to submission in only two minutes thrirty-two seconds.

Welterweight powerhouse Jimmy Wallhead made easy work of tough but outweighed opponent Henning Svendson. The Norwegian fighter, a natural lightweight, unwisely took a fight against one of the UK’s brightest 7kg prospects. Though he put up a spirited performance with some good striking, he fell to Jimmy’s much-improved striking skills in just over two minutes. The ex-national level judo player has worked hard on his striking, and it shows.