Former UFC heavyweight contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-12-1 MMA) made his professional kickboxing debut against Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven (52-10-1 kickboxing) at GLORY 46 from inside the Guangzhou Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China, October 14. Antonio lost the match via TKO.
Verhoeven landed massive damage via leg kicks early on, getting “Bigfoot” Silva. In the second round, Antonio returned more aggressively, but Verhoeven Knocked him down by a head kick and land a barrage of strikes along the ropes before the referee jumped in for the TKO stoppage.
WOW! @RicoVerhoeven gets the TKO in the 2nd round against Bigfoot Silva after the referee steps in. #GLORY46 @GLORY_WS #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/2SORQbUM9H
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 14, 2017
Verhoeven said after the bout:
“The low kicks were part of the gameplan,” Verhoeven said after the win. “He’s from MMA, so low kicks are different in the MMA game, so it was part of the game: hurt him on the leg and finish him on top.”
“Coming in throwing bombs, that’s what he did,” he said of Silva’s performance. “He threw some hard kicks as well, so it was a good fight.”
WATCH the full event below:
