BKFC 8 Highlights: Gabriel Gonzaga Puts Away Fellow UFC Vet Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship held its eighth card on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, and (unfortunately) it saw Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva incur another stoppage loss.

Gabriel Gonzaga puts away “Bigfoot”

Silva faced former UFC heavyweight vet Gabriel Gonzaga, and as you can see by watching the clip below, he was taken out in round two.

Silva’s pre-fight response to critics about the match-up

Due to the fact Silva has lost his last five MMA fights, and because he was stopped in four of those contests, concerns were raised about him fighting at BKFC 8. Prior to the contest, however, the 40-year-old, massive heavyweight said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I’m feeling great,” said Silva, who hadn’t fought since 2017 prior to BKFC 8. “Criticism will always come. There are people that don’t even understand or like the sport, but still criticize, but I don’t even read it. I went to Las Vegas once and did all the exams and it’s all beautiful, I’m like a 15-year-old boy [laughs]. I’m great. I definitely wouldn’t be fighting if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t take that risk.”

“I’m speaking for myself here. I don’t know about Gabriel, but I’m on fire. I’ve been resting for two years, preparing for my comeback, and this is my time to return. Taking that time off was great for my mind, to absorb strikes. I spent two years doing more of cardio and jiu-jitsu to then get my confidence again after the knee surgery. the last time I felt this great was in 2013, when I was very hungry and excited.”

In the aforementioned story, Karen Smith, Director of Communications for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the commission, was quoted saying this:

“Fighters over the age of 40, like the two mentioned in your inquiry, must also present an good EKG and a clean MRI of the brain”.

The 40-year-old Gonzaga, meanwhile, was coming off stoppage losses to Derrick Lewis and Aleksander Emelianenko in MMA action. The former UFC challenger has lost five of his last six MMA fights.