Antonio Silva earned UFC title shot by slumping Alistair Overeem with vicious 14-punch combination

Antonio Silva scored a brutal knockout to earn his only UFC title in February 2013.

The Brazilian heavyweight, affectionately known as 'Bigfoot', was a huge underdog when he took on Alistair Overeem two months after 'The Demolition Man' brutally stopped Brock Lesnar in his sensational promotional debut.

Overeem was on an 11-fight winning streak and seemed destined to fight Cain Velasquez for UFC gold.

All he had to do was get past Antonio Silva, but he tore up the script in the third round of their fight.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Antonio Silva destroyed Alistair Overeem

Overeem felt Silva was not up to his level, and he made that very clear during the bitter build-up to their fight.

The Dutch fighter's superiority complex seemed to manifest itself in the fight as he spent most of the first round with his hands down, but he did enough to win the five-minute frame by connecting with some good knees with Silva's body.

Overeem scored an easy takedown 30 seconds into the second round. Silva did well defending himself and even landed some eye-catching shots from the bottom, but he stayed on the ground for so long that he also dropped the second round.

Everything changed at the start of the third frame when the two heavyweights decided to swing for the fences.

Silva got the better of the first exchange, backing Overeem against the cage wall, where he landed 14 consecutive punches and scored a sensational knockout just 25 seconds into the final round.

Referee Herb Dean tried to drag the massive heavyweight away, but he ran back to Overeem and started yelling at his stricken foe after getting revenge for all the pre-fight talk.

Silva's career peaked at this time, which was enough to earn him a shot at MMA's biggest prize.

Unfortunately, Velasquez made it look easy when he stopped Sillva in 81 seconds to defend his title at UFC 160 in May 2013.

'Bigfoot' had a disastrous UFC debut

Silva's title loss to Velasquez wasn't surprising because they had fought before and it was completely one-sided.

In December 2012, Velasquez's first reign as UFC champion was brutally ended by Junior dos Santos.

'Cigano' shocked the world and embarrassed Velasquez by knocking him out in just 64 seconds.

There was no point in an immediate rematch, so the 9-1 American welcomed Silva to the UFC.

A loss like Velasquez suffered against Dos Santos usually takes years to come to terms with, but the heavyweight legend managed to do so by putting down 'Bigfoot' in a three-minute demolition job.

The UFC 146 co-main event started with Silva making a serious mistake from which he was unable to recover.

A sloppy leg kick allowed Velasquez to easily bring his opponent to the ground. Once there, the 42-year-old MMA icon immediately started firing off quick ground and pound shots.

Silva, who has a BJJ black belt, was able to slow his opponent down until he connected with a clean elbow that cut him wide open. Then Velasquez hammered until 'Bigfoot' was surrounded by a pool of blood.

There was a brief pause in the beating while the cageside doctor checked the cut. Unfortunately for Silva, the fight continued and he was mercilessly beaten until he couldn't take it anymore.

Referee Josh Rosenthal eventually waved off the match when a blood-soaked Silva shot up as his 240-pound rival dropped bombs on him.

Velasquez regained his title seven months later, while Silva had to prove he was a top contender.

'Bigfoot' never won a world title, but he will always be remembered for putting Overeem in his place.

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