When you’re 6’4″, 264 pounds, and you just beat the living pierogies out of Fedor Emelianenko, I guess you’re going to feel somewhat empowered to say whatever’s on your mind. I really wouldn’t know — I’m 5’10”, 165 pounds, and I spend my time trying to avoid pissing larger people off. But when you’re that big and tough like Antonio Big Foot Silva (or own billions of dollars like Mark Cuban), you can pretty much say whatever the heck you want.
It was only two months ago that Big Foot was ripping on Brock Lesnar, saying he wanted to send him back to pro wrestling. Well Silva’s taken another shot at Lesnar, but this time he saved his best for fellow Strikeforce Grand Prix contender Josh Barnett.
Speaking in an interview with Sherdog, Silva said “I’ve been fighting since 2004 and have never had any issues with another athlete, even the most stuck-up. Friendship, for me, is everything, but Josh is a weird guy, a guy who doesn’t greet you when you enter the elevator, doesn’t even say ‘good morning.’ It’s how he treats Brazilian fighters especially. It’s the same thing [he does with Fabricio] Werdum.
“But when [Barnett] sees Fedor, [UFC President] Dana White or [UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo] Fertitta, he runs to them and stays by their side all the time. He makes me sick. He’s the classic kiss-ass, a rude man …” added Silva. “I really want to face Barnett and I’ve already said I consider him a filthy person, even though he is a great fighter, and that I’ll beat him up and close both of his eyes.”
So Silva basically called Barnett a phony kiss up who is disrespectful towards Brazilian fighters. I haven’t been around the man so obviously I can’t judge, but I’ve never been a fan of Barnett. But wait, there’s more … Silva got in a nice jab on Brock Lesnar.
Silva questioned why Lesnar pulled out of his scheduled fight with Junior dos Santos. “I don’t want to judge anyone and I really wish it’s not a big health problem for [Lesnar], but I have some doubts,” Silva told Sherdog. “That big guy doesn’t like being punched. In his last fights, he was put in the fetal position by Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, which is humiliating for a fighter. I think he pulled out of the fight against ‘Cigano,’ who is a real heavy puncher and a real tough opponent for someone who doesn’t like being punched.”
Normally I’d say it’s not a good idea to piss other people off, but when you’re as big and good as Silva is, your body can back up the checks. Additionally, I think his strong comments help drum up individual publicity as well as overall publicity for Strikeforce. It’s a win-win situation.
Hammer fist to Bloody Elbow for the find
