Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva was interviewed by
Tatame and revealed that a fight with Josh Barnett may be looming on the horizon in "The Land of the Rising Sun."
Bigfoot will square off with "Big" Jim York at Sengoku 10 on September 23rd, an 11-2 HW fighter with a propensity for finishing fights. In fact, York's fate has never been decided by score cards in his career, as he's knocked out or submitted all of his victims, lost by submission in his first MMA fight, and was KO'd by Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao in Sengoku 2.
Bigfoot revealed that the Sengoku president confirmed to him that he would face Josh Barnett should he defeat York. Barnett's name has not seen light since it was splashed across every MMA website imaginable after the Affliction debacle, where his pre-fight urine test sounded the steroid alarm, ultimately flatlining the pulse of the entire organization. This was Barnett's second positive test for steroids in MMA, the first coming immediately after he defeated Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title in 2002, tarnishing his new legacy as the youngest UFC HW to date.
Coincidentally, "Bigfoot" Silva clobbered the late Justin Eilers in 2008 to attain the Elite XC heavyweight strap, but the now defunct organization flagged Silva's drug test for Boldenone, a performance enhancing steroid. Despite being fined and suspended for one year, Silva was offered a fight shortly after in Sengoku, which he accepted, much to the chagrin of the California State Athletic Commission.
Steroid correlation aside, this would prove to be an interesting and competitive fight between two top heavyweights outside of the UFC, that is, if Silva were to persevere against Nakao in the main event of Sengoku Tenth Battle.
