Sherdog.com’s 2013 Knockout of the Year

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5. Finding ‘Bigfoot’

Antonio Silva’s knockout of Alistair Overeem is a prime example of the differences between a fight on paper and one in the cage.

Few, if any, expected “Bigfoot” to wreck Overeem in the manner he did, least of all the bookmakers, who had “The Demolition Man” pegged as a 4-to-1 favorite ahead of the February showdown at UFC 156, this despite Overeem returning from a nine-month suspension after a random drug test in Nevada saw him flagged for elevated testosterone.

If Overeem thought Silva possessed the skills to beat him, he certainly did not acknowledge it during the pre-fight build-up. When the men came face-to-face for photographers, Overeem allegedly told Silva he would destroy him; and after an especially intense stare down, “Bigfoot” reportedly warned the Dutchman that he had better start respecting him.

When the men hit the Octagon, Overeem immediately took center cage, sitting down in a low stance to ward off potential takedown attempts. Apparently unconcerned with Silva’s offensive capabilities, Overeem kept his hands low and his chin high as he went to work with a jab upstairs and left hook to the body before clinching with “Pezao” against the fence. Utilizing a massive speed advantage, Overeem easily moved out of range when Silva did throw punches and shucked off his takedown attempts with ease.

Round two saw Silva begin to swing at his faster foe with more defiance, though the Dutchman easily scored a body-lock takedown that landed him in side control. Overeem spent the majority of the round in top position, rattling Silva’s ribs with punches and elbows before going upstairs in a rhythm akin to Mark Coleman’s famous body-body-head mantra. As Overeem allowed his man to stand to end the round, however, it was clear that Silva was no longer worried about the former K-1 World Grand Prix winner’s vaunted standup, a mindset which carried over into the fateful third period.

At the behest of his corner, Silva closed the distance to start round three, colliding with Overeem like a bull at center cage before unloading with a hard one-two and a head kick that took Overeem off-balance. Smelling blood, the onetime EliteXC champion followed Overeem to the cage and bludgeoned him with a right, two cracking uppercuts and then an extended flurry of blows that caused Overeem to collapse to the canvas.

Victorious, Silva continued to assault his fallen foe, albeit verbally, as “Bigfoot” pulled against intervening referee Herb Dean and implored Overeem to continue fighting. This, of course, was a rhetorical request.