19 June 2023 , 13:23
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UFC veteran Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva's retirement lasted just eight days as he announced he will fight again.
Silva, 43, suffered his eighth defeat on the bounce when he lost a unanimous decision to Salim El Ouassaidi for French promotion Kingdom Fighting earlier this month. 'Bigfoot' retired after the fight by laying down his gloves in the cage, but he now plans to return for a rematch against Ouassaidi.
''I’m ready and I’m coming back from retirement to fight again because I know I didn’t lose," Silva wrote on Instagram. The announcement comes as a surprise as he was defiant that his loss to Ouassaidi would be his last fight. "I say goodbye to MMA after 19 years. I finish my career very happy for everything I've achieved for almost 2 decades," he said.
What are your thoughts on Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva coming out of retirement? Let us know in the comments section below
Silva has just one win in the last decade, dating back to 2015 when he won a decision against Soi Palelei at UFC 190. In that same timeframe, 'Bigfoot' has been knocked out nine times and fans have desperately pleaded with him to stay retired. "No man. Just retire and be with your family," one comment read.
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"Nobody wants to see you fight anymore. Please stop. I know it’s hard to give up on your passion. Go do coaching and stuff," a second comment read. "Time to hang ‘em up big fella, thanks for all the fights you gave us but you have got to stop. Be a trainer you are very knowledgeable I hate seeing you fight knowing what you were in you’re prime sorry," a third user added.
Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva has come out of retirement (Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Silva was cut by the UFC after his knockout loss to Roy Nelson in 2016. The Brazilian then competed for several MMA promotions in Russia, such as Fight Nights Global and Titov Boxing. None of those fights went his way in the region as he suffered knockout losses to the likes of Vitaly Minakov and Oleg Popov.
Several UFC fighters congratulated 'Bigfoot' upon his initial retirement, as Michael Bisping wrote: "Congrats brother. You had an incredible career. Great to train with you back in the day." Thiago Santos also commented: "Congrats on your career champ!"