Antonio Silva

When he was aged 3, Antonio Carlos Silva observed a karate demonstration at a playground, which stirred his interest in the martial arts, and later lead to him being one of the most agile heavyweights in Mixed Martial Arts. Silva trained in karate for 13 years before transitioning to Jiu Jitsu in his native Brazil. In 2005, Silva trained with the famed Wolfslair MMA Academy which lead to his first professional mixed martial arts bout when he fought in UK Mixed Martial Arts Championship. Silva used his greater size to control his opponent, Tengiz Tedoradze, while clinching early in the stand up. Silva took Tedoradze to the ground and landed several unanswered strikes to his dazed opponent which ended the fight by technical knockout just over a minute in the bout.Silva fought Marcus Tchinda in another UK promotion, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Silva defeated Tchinda by submitting him with punches. Silva had his first championship opportunity when he fought at Cage Rage 12 for the