UFC
"Bigfoot" Silva says he "couldn't see a thing" in bloody UFC 146 loss to Cain Velasquez
May 31, 2012 - 9:15:01 PM "Bigfoot" Silva says he "couldn't see a thing" in bloody UFC 146 loss to Cain Velasquez

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva received a rude welcome to the UFC on Saturday night at UFC 146, falling victim to one of the more brutal beatings dished out inside the Octagon in his bout with Cain Velasquez.

A big reason for the one-sided nature of the bout was a cut opened up early on by Velasquez. Administered right between the eyes, the cut bled profusely and severely obstructed Silva's eyesight, despite what he told to cageside doctors when it was checked on half way through the round.

"One of the main reasons I got defeated [was] that I couldn't see a thing, there was a lot of blood and my eyes were burning," Silva said in an interview with Tatame.com. "I tried to defend myself and not get hit at, shaking my head to see if I could get rid of that blood, but there was no way around it. From that moment on my corner was my eyes."

"One of the doctors asked me if I could see a thing and I didn't answer because I wanted to keep on going," he continued explaining. "Then he asked me again and I said yes, but actually it was really complicated."

"If I had said I couldn't see straight they would stop the contest and I didn't want that. My goal on that moment was to keep on going, try to take him to the second round to see if my team could contain the blood."

He didn't make it to that second round, however, as Velasquez's sustained beating continued, eventually leading to the TKO stoppage. Now he's got to go back to the drawing board after his second straight stoppage loss.

Penick's Analysis: This brings up an issue with doctors and officials at cageside. They are there to save fighters from themselves at times. Silva admits here that he had to lie to the doctor to keep the fight going, and it makes the job of the officials a very difficult one. They need to be more cognizant of issues with fighters, as Silva wound up suffering more of a beating than he would have had the fight been stopped by the cut itself. It was an issue seen in the night's main event as well. After Frank Mir got blasted by a flurry at the end of the first round, he was asked by the doctor if he knew where he was. He responded with the wrong Las Vegas venue, and though it may have been an honest slip up, the doctor didn't really follow up when he knew it was an incorrect answer. Back to this fight, Silva was absolutely hampered by the blood in the fight, but that doesn't necessarily mean Velasquez wouldn't have been able to continue what he started regardless of the cut. Still, it definitely had a negative effect on Silva's performance, as it would have to any fighter in that position.