Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was the underdog on the fight with Fedor Emelianenko, which happened on the night between Saturday and Sunday, but he shut everybody’s mouth with a perfect performance. On 10 impeccable minutes, the heavyweight slaughtered the Russian myth and guaranteed his vacancy on the semifinals of Strikeforce’s tournament, and we chatted with the manager Alex Davis, who was more than glad with the historical win.



What did you think of the fight?



I’ve always knew Bigfoot could do it. His journey until here was very hard. Only me, Bigfoot and God know how much he suffered to get here. Bigfoot suffered a lot, worked very hard, and now he showed what he’s a big dog now. It’ll be hard to big him now.



Fedor was considered the favorite to win the title of this Grand Prix. Now Bigfoot beat him up, is he the favorite for the title?



I think so, but we’re not even thinking about it now. We were just enjoying the win. He proved what he’s capable of. When Bigfoot punches you on the ground and pound, no one can handle it. Now he’ll rest and wait for the next on the line.



He’ll fight the winner between Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem on the semifinals. What do you expect of this fight?



Werdum is a friend of ours, that’s a paradox. We cheer for him and at the same time we don’t want to fight him. As a business, we want him to win so that a Brazilian is assured to be on the finale. I’m cheering for him.



Did the big guys of Strikeforce say anything after the fight to you?



The event was calm, but I want to make a critic for Fedor’s managers: He’s a really nice guy, a great champion, he has beat everybody for 10 year, but his managers could never let him fight Bigfoot after the loss. We’ve asked for this fight, but it wasn’t the moment for him to fight

Bigfoot.



Do you know when the semifinals will be?



We don’t have any idea, we’re just enjoying this victory feeling. We’re not looking beyond this fight.



Fedor had most Brazilian fans at his side, who admire him since Pride. Do you want to leave a message for the fans?

We are also Fedor’s fans, we like him, we cheer for him and we want him to return. We invaded the Russian blockage and talked to Fedor after the fight, we begged him not to stop, he’s a great champion. He’s a historical fighter. As for Big Foot, he’s a honest and family guy, he deserves to be where he is. He suffered a lot to get here. He deserves it more than anybody else. I’d like to thank all fans that cheered for him, he’ll give many joy for you, guys.

By Guilherme Cruz
Photo Esther Lin