Konan
02-04-2013, 07:04 PM
LAS VEGAS – Antonio Silva turned in one of the better comebacks in recent memory on Saturday night when he knocked out Alistair Overeem early in the third round at UFC 156.
But to hear Silva tell it, things went pretty much exactly as planned – at least in the third round.
Silva (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was held well in check for the first 10 minutes by Overeem (36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who appeared to be toying with Silva at worst, and perhaps not seeing much sense of urgency to finish the fight at best.
When the second round came to a close, Silva walked back to his corner, and Overeem looked at him, smirked and gave him a nod. Ninety seconds later, he was out on the canvas while the crowd at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas cheered the upset.
Silva had to be physically restrained by referee Herb Dean, who wrapped him up in a bear hug to pull him away. After the fight, Silva said the talking Overeem did before the fight is what had him angrily yelling at his opponent on the mat.
In fact, Silva said he wanted Overeem to get up and keep fighting – even after eating huge punch after huge punch along the fence.
"(I was angry) because he didn't respect me and he talked a lot of bulls--- and s--- before the fight," Silva said. "The fight is won inside the cage – not outside. I went there to stop the fight, and I was pretty excited.
"I just wanted to talk to him: 'Hey, get up. I want to fight. Fight hard, man. Come on. Get up.'"
Silva said he was talking to Overeem in the second round, as well. When Overeem was able to land a takedown and started working ground-and-pound along the fence, Silva said he tried to play a few head games with the former Strikeforce champion – who came into the fight unbeaten over a stretch of more than five years.
He also said the strong start in the third was owed to a game plan revolving around the believe Overeem wouldn't have much gas left late in the fight.
"I had a good strategy because we knew Overeem didn't have good cardio," Silva said. "When he punches, he's a lion. But when I punch him, he's a cat. In the second round, I talked in his ear when he was using his ground-and-pound: 'Let's go, man. Push hard.' I confused his mind. And all the time, when he was pushing, he was breathing heavy.
"I knew this guy wasn't coming for the final round, and my corner said, 'Hey, when you use your right punch, he moved the head. Use it two times, one, and then an uppercut.' I did that, and I got him."
Overeem was on track to get a title shot against champion Cain Velasquez had he won the fight. That went right out the window with the loss. Before the fight, there was no such similar talk for Silva with a win. After all, he was just one fight removed from a brutal knockout loss to Velasquez at UFC 146. So giving him another shot at Velasquez after a two-fight win streak – Silva beat Travis Browne in October – didn't seem to make much sense.
But UFC President Dana White after the fight said the way Silva stopped Overeem, who is known as arguably the greatest striker in the history of the heavyweight division, may have been enough to change some minds.
"Going into this fight, we talked about if Alistair Overeem had won (he'd get a title shot)," White said. "But I'm telling you, the way he looked in this fight, and what he did to Alistair, maybe we do that fight again (with Silva-Velasquez). I don't like to make fights right after the fight is over, but I wouldn't be opposed to that."
But to hear Silva tell it, things went pretty much exactly as planned – at least in the third round.
Silva (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was held well in check for the first 10 minutes by Overeem (36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who appeared to be toying with Silva at worst, and perhaps not seeing much sense of urgency to finish the fight at best.
When the second round came to a close, Silva walked back to his corner, and Overeem looked at him, smirked and gave him a nod. Ninety seconds later, he was out on the canvas while the crowd at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas cheered the upset.
Silva had to be physically restrained by referee Herb Dean, who wrapped him up in a bear hug to pull him away. After the fight, Silva said the talking Overeem did before the fight is what had him angrily yelling at his opponent on the mat.
In fact, Silva said he wanted Overeem to get up and keep fighting – even after eating huge punch after huge punch along the fence.
"(I was angry) because he didn't respect me and he talked a lot of bulls--- and s--- before the fight," Silva said. "The fight is won inside the cage – not outside. I went there to stop the fight, and I was pretty excited.
"I just wanted to talk to him: 'Hey, get up. I want to fight. Fight hard, man. Come on. Get up.'"
Silva said he was talking to Overeem in the second round, as well. When Overeem was able to land a takedown and started working ground-and-pound along the fence, Silva said he tried to play a few head games with the former Strikeforce champion – who came into the fight unbeaten over a stretch of more than five years.
He also said the strong start in the third was owed to a game plan revolving around the believe Overeem wouldn't have much gas left late in the fight.
"I had a good strategy because we knew Overeem didn't have good cardio," Silva said. "When he punches, he's a lion. But when I punch him, he's a cat. In the second round, I talked in his ear when he was using his ground-and-pound: 'Let's go, man. Push hard.' I confused his mind. And all the time, when he was pushing, he was breathing heavy.
"I knew this guy wasn't coming for the final round, and my corner said, 'Hey, when you use your right punch, he moved the head. Use it two times, one, and then an uppercut.' I did that, and I got him."
Overeem was on track to get a title shot against champion Cain Velasquez had he won the fight. That went right out the window with the loss. Before the fight, there was no such similar talk for Silva with a win. After all, he was just one fight removed from a brutal knockout loss to Velasquez at UFC 146. So giving him another shot at Velasquez after a two-fight win streak – Silva beat Travis Browne in October – didn't seem to make much sense.
But UFC President Dana White after the fight said the way Silva stopped Overeem, who is known as arguably the greatest striker in the history of the heavyweight division, may have been enough to change some minds.
"Going into this fight, we talked about if Alistair Overeem had won (he'd get a title shot)," White said. "But I'm telling you, the way he looked in this fight, and what he did to Alistair, maybe we do that fight again (with Silva-Velasquez). I don't like to make fights right after the fight is over, but I wouldn't be opposed to that."