UFC
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva doubts Brock Lesnar's illness, calls Josh Barnett a "filthy person"
May 17, 2011 - 11:15:04 AM Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva doubts Brock Lesnar's illness, calls Josh Barnett a "filthy person"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva's never been a fan of Brock Lesnar's. The 6'4" Silva has lashed out in numerous interviews against the former UFC Heavyweight Champion and one-time #1 ranked heavyweight, and now that Lesnar has pulled out of a fight with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131 due to the reemergence of his diverticulitis, Silva joins with "Brock Hater Nation" in his latest thoughts to Sherdog.com.

"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 said. "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."

What Silva, and most others attacking Lesnar at the moment fail to remember is the fact that Lesnar came back against Carwin and won that fight, and took six weeks out of his family life in Minnesota to go on The Ultimate Fighter to set up the fight with Dos Santos.

But it's not just Lesnar that Silva decided to go after in this interview, as he also set his sights on fellow Heavyweight World Grand Prix competitor Josh Barnett, and hopes to get a fight with "The Baby Faced Assasin."

"I've been fighting since 2004 and have never had any issues with another athlete, even the most stuck-up," Silva began. "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 with [Barnett and] 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... 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."

For his part, Barnett has responded to Bigfoot's comments on Twitter.

"Bigfoot sure has a lot of shit to talk it would seem [plus he] thinks I got beef [with] Brazil," Barnett wrote. "Go ask Babalu, Rizzo, Vitor, Feijao, Romulo, JZ..."

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This illness had Lesnar bed-ridden and hooked up to IVs for weeks in late 2009, and nearly ended his fighting career. If it has popped up again in a serious way it's something he has to take care of. The simple fact that he fought with it dormant in 2010 twice, knowing he wasn't running at full capacity and still learning to live with this disease that can come back like it has should be enough, but sadly there's more of those on Silva's side that decide to be the most vocal and vitriolic towards the man.

As for the Barnett beef, that's a fight that could potentially happen in this Grand Prix tournament (if it comes to completion), and there's enough to go on from both sides to make the build up quite interesting if it happens in Strikeforce. Maybe we'll see that fight come to pass, or maybe Silva will get a chance to back up everything he's said about Lesnar in a fight in the UFC at some point. It's more of a possibility now than it was last year, but there's still some time before we'll see that one come to pass.