Though it’s still more than three months away, the UFC 190 fight card continues to grow with Friday’s addition of a heavyweight bout between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Soa Palelei. UFC officials confirmed the bout first reported by Yahoo News.
Silva (18-7, 1 NC) has been through a rough patch the past couple of years. He’s lost three out of four bouts during that span, while the other was a Fight-of-the-Year candidate turned no-contest due to elevated levels of testosterone on his post-fight drug test.
The Brazilian’s last trip to the cage was a drubbing. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir knocked Silva out in less than two minutes courtesy of his much-improved striking.
In short, Silva needs a victory… badly.
He’ll be attempting to do so against a fighter that has been at the opposite end of the spectrum. Palelei (22-4) has run up a record of 12-1 over the past four years. His lone loss was a decision to Jared Rosholt in the Octagon.
Silva represents the most high profile fight of his career, but Palelei is riding a wave of confidence that could be just what he needs to topple his Brazilian foe. Although he’ll have to do so on Silva’s home turf.
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The two will meet at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro. The card is headlined by Ronda Rousey‘s bantamweight title defense against Bethe Correia, and also features Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Stefan Struve.