Does Antonio Silva Deserve A Title Shot At UFC 160?

Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has made quite an impression since joining the UFC, The Blackhouse MMA fighter has scored consecutive knockouts of Travis Brown and Alistair Overeem at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot and UFC 156, respectively. This was following his unsuccessful octagon debut against current Heavyweight boss Cain Velasquez at UFC 146.

It took Velasquez all of three and a half minutes to pick apart Silva, leaving the giant Brazilian in a bloody heap as the ref mercifully halted the action. Many would argue that Silva is the rightful number one contender, but has he actually done enough to earn the shot?

I’m taking nothing away from Silva, in terms of achievement, but the two fights he had since UFC 146 really could have gone either way. His brutal knockout over Alistair Overeem really showed that Bigfoot meant business, but again Overeem really opened the door for his foe. Hands down and cocky were two phrases that spring to mind. Now obviously Silva had to take the opportunity-just like he did against Browne.

In the fight against Browne, Silva was again presented the victory on a plate. In my books, Travis Browne holds a lot more stock than Silva in terms of talent and ability. It could have easily been Browne walking away with the TKO win had he not injured his leg so severely. Not only these points, but how much has Silva improved?

Velasquez is an absolute beast, he showed against Silva that quality over quantity is the name of the game in MMA, and I don’t think Silva’s skill level has improved enough since their first fight. I may be wrong, of course, but Velasquez is still the better wrestler, striker and all rounder when compared to his opponent.

Silva may have earned the shot outright, I’m not going to sit here and say that its a travesty after Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen happened, but is it really worth him trying to take the belt from the Mexican Machine? No it isn’t, not in my opinion. Stay tuned to Lowkick!