UFC releases ‘Bigfoot’ Silva

There won’t be any "Bigfoot" sightings in the UFC again any time soon.

The promotion released Antonio Silva recently after a rough stretch for the former elite heavyweight, MMA Fighting confirmed with UFC officials Friday. Globo was the first to report the news. Silva had lost three straight, all by knockout

Globo reported that Silva, 37, is already fielding offers from other promotions. "Bigfoot" owns a win over Fedor Emelianenko under the Strikeforce banner in 2011 and the promotion that signs Emelianenko could very well want to put together that rematch.

Silva (19-10, 1 NC), a former EliteXC and Cage Rage heavyweight champion, has just one win in his last eight fights and all of his losses have come via knockout. In his last outing, the Brazilian lost by second-round KO to Roy Nelson in September.

Before this current skid, "Bigfoot" was regarded as one of the best heavyweights in the world. Silva, who had been in the UFC since 2012, owns victories over the likes of Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski on his record. His fight with Mark Hunt in 2013 was one of the best heavyweights bouts in UFC history, but was somewhat marred when Silva, a past user of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), was suspended due to elevated testosterone levels.