Thiago Silva

By Michael Hatamoto

Thiago Silva squashed a rivalry with fellow Brazilian light heavyweight Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante with a strong knockout win against an overmatched Feijao.

Silva used leg kicks and a variety of steady jabs throughout the first few minutes of the fight, and then finished it with a brutal right uppercut.

“I have a great camp, I have a great manager, and when I saw the opportunity, I just took it,” Silva said during a post-fight interview.

The knockout win also earned Silva an impressive $50,000 Knockout of the Night award – and it was the only pure knockout on the fight card.

This was Silva’s first win inside the UFC since UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira in August 2009, after two more recent victories were overturned due to a falsified urine sample and a failed drug test (marijuana metabolites).

I’m not impressed that Feijao managed to gas within three minutes of fighting, which opened the door and made it easier for Silva to set up the finish. It’s possible Feijao suffered an adrenaline dump and just wasn’t able to recover, though both fighters set a frantic pace and it looked like he simply couldn’t keep up.

Silva has been in the cage against some of the best fighters in the light heavyweight division – and if he passes the post-fight drug test – the UFC could have some great potential matchups for the Brazilian. However, he always failed in his biggest fights, including losing to Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, and Alexander Gustafsson dating back to UFC 71 in 2007.