After TKO loss in GLORY debut, 'Bigfoot' Silva wants rematch vs. Rico Verhoeven – but on his turf

It wasn’t exactly a closely contested affair, but for what it’s worth, Antonio Silva managed to take one of the best kickboxers in the world to the second round in his debut.

“Bigfoot” Silva (19-12-1 MMA) met Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven (52-10-1 kickboxing) in a non-title headliner at today’s GLORY 46 SuperFight Series event in Guangzhou, China.

The bout, scheduled for three three-minute rounds, was called to a stop early in the second after a flurry by Verhoeven had “Bigfoot” cornered against the ropes.

Verhoeven relied heavily on low kicks in the first round – a strategy that seemed to pay dividends as Silva twice struggled to keep his footing. A low blow by the GLORY champ, however, caused the fight to be paused for a bit.

The beginning of the end would come in Round 2 – courtesy of a swift head kick that sent “Bigfoot” to the mat. While he did get back to his feet, Verhoeven would soon start to unleash, following a spinning kick with some punches to prompt the referee to intervene 47 seconds into the round.

While a rematch in the ring doesn’t seem all that likely, how about one in the cage? According to Silva’s longtime manager, Alex Davis, “Bigfoot” would be glad to make it happen.

“Antonio went out there and did his first kickboxing fight against the current GLORY champ and legend, Rico Verhoeven,” Davis told MMAjunkie. “And not even himself expected to win. But he fought like a lion. Nothing to be ashamed of. And nor was it the manslaughter everyone predicted.

“Now, Antonio thinks that it is Verhoeven’s turn to debut in MMA. And since he took the first challenge, he now respectfully invites Rico to do the same in MMA. Bigfoot would be more than happy to welcome him.”

In any case, the Brazilian heavyweight seems to be taking the loss like a champ. In his social media, Silva said it was “an honor” to share the ring with his foe and made it clear that he would like other opportunities to perform under the GLORY banner. (via Instagram)

No excuses… this was my first kickboxing fight, I knew the risks of fighting against @ricoverhoeven because he is the champion of @glorykickboxing and he has more than 61 fights in he’s carrier. It was a honor the be in the ring with him. I hope to have more opportunities to fight in Glory events again…. ???????? Sem desculpas nessa hora pois essa foi minha primeira luta de kickboxing, eu sabia de todos os riscos e desafios q eu teria pela frente pois aceitei lutar com o campeão do evento onde ele tem mais de 60 lutas de kickboxing, foi uma grande experiência e um enorme prazer dividir o ringue com uma pessoa como o Rico, um cara super respeitador mesmo sendo o campeão e lutando com um lutador que nunca lutou em sua área…. Obrigado Rico q Deus te abençoe e espero voltar a lutar aqui no Glory novamente. #glorykickboxing #china #rkt #thugkickboxing #brasilia

A post shared by Antonio Silva (@bigfootsilva) on Oct 14, 2017 at 7:12am PDT

“Bigfoot,” 37, was a massive underdog going into the fight, which, given the current trend of the fighters’ careers, wasn’t exactly received well by fans, media and even Davis himself when it was first announced.

Not only was it Silva’s kickboxing debut, the UFC and Strikeforce vet has lost his past five MMA fights – the last one, which ended in a knockout, took place in Russia in June. The 28-year-old kickboxing veteran Verhoeven, in turn, is now riding an eight-fight streak.

Check out the full fight, which streamed live on UFC Fight Pass, above.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.