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Thiago Silva gets the TKO win as Feijao gasses in the first round
by Ben Heather @benheather
This match was billed as a grudge match going in to the fight and as Dan Miragliotta got the men in the middle of the octagon before the fight they were not interested in touching gloves, more so in touching their gloves on each others heads.
The record of Thiago Silva said he had not won in almost four years before this fight (that's what impact two suspensions for failed drugs tests will do to your record) and it is also his first fight back after his second suspension for a failed drugs test which tested positive for Marijuana after he beat Stanislav Nedkov. That result was overturned. As for Feijao he also came in to the fight off the back of a suspension. Feijao also failed a drugs test but his tested positive for the banned substance stanozolol.
As the fight starts Feijao came out throwing an early leg kick before throwing his right hand. Then the pair trade kicks. Cavalcante starts to work some power shots and looks the busier of the two fighters in the early stages of round one.
Silva starts to answer back by throwing a combination of straight punches and kicks. Its a decent pace to the contest and Silva seems to be pacing himself well unlike Feijao who already has his hands down low and Silva makes the most of this and lands some punches which make Feijao put his hands back up. The pace speeds up as the pair start throwing some good shots at each other resulting in Feijao drilling Silva with a body shot and then just missing with what would have been a huge uppercut.
Feijao already seems to be fading, the pressure/ thought of fighting in his first UFC fight may have got the better of him. Thiago Silva's corner try to tell him to go in for the kill and finish the obviously tired Feijao. Silva obliges and starts throwing some kicks following it up with a right hand which lands. Feijao is now in real trouble and Silva doesn't let up and throws a big uppercut which lands flush and drops Feijao. Once a couple of punches land on the floor the referee calls an end to the fight.
As long as Silva doesn't fail another drugs test this should be his first official win in nearly four years. He improves his record to 15-3-2 and may have surprised a few people by getting the win. I think next up for Silva a test against somebody like Jimi Manuwa in the UK would be a great test for both men and look to push the winner towards the top 10 in the division.
Whats next for Feijao well his record drops to 11-4-1 and in his first UFC fight his performance was poor at best. How any professional athlete can come in to a fight and be gassed halfway through the first round is shocking. Coming in to the fight from a suspension and putting on that performance is shocking. It's going to take a lot to try and convince the UFC fans that he is the real deal and deserves to be in the UFC on the back of that performance.
