Thiago Silva accepts Antonio Silva's challenge for UFC fight – at 205 pounds

FORTALEZA, Brazil – Recent UFC heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva (18-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) wants a fight with former teammate Thiago Silva (15-3 UFC, 6-3 UFC). While the latter Silva is a light heavyweight, he said he’ll take the fight – at 205 pounds.

“He must be sad because I left American Top Team, but if he wants to fight me he has to come down to 205,” Thiago Silva said after Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 event in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. “That’s it.”

The two Silvas were once teammates at American Top Team, though Thiago has since moved on to the Blackzilians camp. The pair had never before publicly bickered, but heavyweight Antonio took to Twitter mere moments after Thiago’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 win over Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante to issue the challenge.

“Thiago weighs 105 kilograms (approx. 231 pounds),” Antonio Silva wrote in Portuguese. “We have a debt to settle. He could accept a fight with me at heavyweight.”

The 6-foot-2 Thiago Silva has competed througout his professional career at 205 pounds. Meanwhile, the 6-4 Antonio Silva is a former super heavyweight who cuts weight to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit. In short, it doesn’t seem likely that Antonio Silva will making light heavyweight anytime soon.

And so Thiago will likely find himself booked with someone else at 205 pounds. At UFC on FUEL TV 10, he scored the first official win of his career since 2009 after victories over Stanislav Nedkov and Brandon Vera were erased due to failed post-fight drug tests.

There were some concerns during fight week that Silva’s focus and dedication to the sport were wavering, especially after a rather uninspiring session at Thursday’s pre-fight open workouts. However, the 30-year-old Brazilian said it was all just a bit of gamesmanship.

“In the open workouts, you don’t show everything,” Silva explained. “You just give the journalists an idea of what you’re going to do in the fight, but that’s not reality. The fight is reality.”

And reality went well for Silva, who survived a few early blows from Cavalcante before knocking him out with a brutal first-round barrage that included a devastating uppercut to seal the result.

Silva was awarded $100,000 in bonus money for scoring the evening’s “Knockout of the Night” bonus and combining with Cavalcante to put on the evening’s “Fight of the Night” winner, as well.

For complete coverage of UFC on FUEL TV 10, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.