Another piece in the UFC 146 puzzle has now been put into place as former Strikeforce heavyweight star Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has now been lined up to replace Frank Mir in the co-main event against Cain Velasquez.
Velasquez had required a new opponent after Mir was promoted to the main event for a title shot against current heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.
Silva notched up the biggest win of his career to date last year when he defeated Fedor Emelianenko by TKO in the quarter-finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand-Prix quarter-finals.
That left ‘Bigfoot’ on a three-fight winning streak, but he would come unstuck in the semi-finals of the tournament when Daniel Cormier produced a first round knockout victory over the Brazilian.
Earlier today I had suggested Travis Browne as a potential replacement for Mir, but Silva is a solid opponent option too with a 16-3 record overall and provides a decent test for Velasquez who will be fighting for the first time since losing his title to Junior Dos Santos back in November.
Today’s announcement doesn’t put an end to the mystery surrounding the UFC 146 main card however as Silva had originally been scheduled to fight Roy Nelson, and so ‘Big Country’ is now in need of a new opponent.
