Two of the UFC’s biggest heavyweights will collide at UFC 190. Soa “The Hulk” Palelei will face Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in Brazil on August 1st. The UFC confirmed the bout early Saturday morning.
Palelei (22-4) has been a dark horse in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Since joining the organization in 2013 “The Hulk” has gone 4-1 with four knockout wins. His only loss came via a decision to Jared Rosholt last June. Palelei has been competing professionally since 2002 has fought in various promotions including Pride. The Australian last competed in the UFC back in November where he won his bout against Walt Harris via a second round TKO.
Silva (18-7-1) is a former title contender but has hit a rough patch after coming from behind and knocking out Alistair Overeem at UFC 156. Since that victory “Bigfoot” has gone 0-3 with one draw. He also served a suspension for failing a post fight drug test after his epic bout against Mark Hunt. His last bout was a KO loss to Frank Mir at their Fight Night main event back in February.
UFC 190 takes place on August 1st at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event will be headlined by Ronda Rousey as she looks to defend her UFC bantamweight championship Ronda against undefeated contender Bethe Correia. The card will also feature both of the Nogueira brothers as they face Stefan Struve and Shogun Rua respectively.