Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva wanted to eliminate Fabricio Werdum to get a shot against Fedor Emelianenko, and almost got it in the first round, when he knocked Werdum down, but decided to let him up and go to striking again. With an unanimous decision loss, Silva went back to American Top Team headquarters with a broken hand, but promises to go back with full speed. Check below an exclusive interview with the heavyweight.

What did you think about the fight?

The fight wasn’t better because the judges gave the decision to Werdum. After the fight I went home and watched the fight and calculated, and I’m sure that I won. I won the first round was totally mine, the second was tight, but I could a knockdown at the beginning, and the third I really lost, I felt the physical part and because I’ve hurt my hand when the first round started, when that knockdown happened. I’m using parget now, in a little while I’ll be back to the doctor to know how it is.

The decision that would be more fair it would be to me, but I have said before that we can’t leave on judges’ hands, but I wasn’t competent enough. I had opportunities, but I asked to stand up because Werdum is a great athlete, a great person, but I knew that he couldn’t submit on the ground. The only way he had to beat me was on decision. I had opportunity to finish the fight and I didn’t… I say here to the guys that who gives shows is ‘Xuxa’, the thing is to go there and win, but I wanted to make a beautiful fight, and God punished me.

What did it missed for you to win the fight?

What missed is that, if I stood hitting for about 20 seconds, giving a pressure, I would have finished the fight there. Including, Master Rafael Cordeiro, after the event, Said that he thought the fight would end there, because I go to the ground and finish on ground and pound, but I didn’t wanted to finish the fight on that moment, I thought better to say him to be stand up and to try to knock out on top, to do a beautiful fight, and I could another knockdown later. I made a good work here in ATT, but unfortunately I hurt my hand, but I kept fighting. I lost the third round clearly, but I’m sure that I won the others.

People of the event talked something?

After the fight, the matchmaker of Strikeforce came to talk to me on the locker room and said that he thought that I won and said I’m sorry, saying that the Committee judges. I’m sure that I won, everyone said that here. I’ve been in Disney now and, from each ten person, nine said that I won. I’m happy for fighting with Werdum and I was satisfied with my performance, but the results weren’t better because they didn’t raised my arm.

Do you think that the constroversy decision had something to do with the fact the you to sue the Atheletic Comission because of doping?

I think not, even because Chicago’s Comission is new… I don’t think that there’s anything to do with California’s committee, even because California’s Comission helped me in a lot of stuff that Chicago’s was demanding, as exams ans other things. The thing was I didn’t catch that fight since the beginning… I slowed down at the beginning of the second round and it counted. And there’s also Fabrício Werdum’s name, that sometimes may sell more with Fedor x Werdum than with me, that was stopped for one year. He won ADCC, used to fight UFC while I was stopped, and this can have made the difference on decision’s time, but the important is that I won’t let it escape on the next.

For how long will you stay stopped?

I went to the doctor after the event, in Chicago, and they immobilized me. When I came in my city, I went to the doctor and they order to keep the plaster until December 10, and then I took off and they will evaluate again. If it’s better, I’ll start the physiotherapy, or I do two more weeks of plaster. The year ednded to me, I only must be back on the second half of January. I was on the card on December 31 (on Sengoku), but we make some plans and God make others. It was for me to have ended the fight at the beginning, to be good and prepared to the next, but my self confidence was so big that I made a bad choice to myself.

Werdum must be Fedor’s next opponent. How do you think this fight’s gonna be?

They’re considering it and I hope that put Werdum against him, because my audience is for the Brazilian, but I think that they may put Overeem against Fedor, because they want to put Overeem against Fedor, because they want Fedor to have the belt. About the fight, I think it’s gonna be complicated to Werdum if it goes on top, and Fedor is very good on the ground, but we have to respect Werdum. If it stands up, I thinks that Fedor takes it, if it goes to the ground Werdum may complicate.

And Fedor’s victory over Brett Rogers?

It was a beautiful fight, make the audience stand up… He showed once again that he’s a warrior, he hurt the nose at the beginning of the first round, suffered a deep cut, had a ground and pound of the guard, and Brett has a lot of strength, he’s stupid on the strength, but he handled the pressure and defined the fight. He’s the man… When he was born, God put the finger and said that he’s the man, like Romário said (laugh). There’s no words for him, overcoming, race, determination…

Do you still dream about facing Fedor?

Now I went to the end of the line, but I’ll be back stronger, with my head better, because some defeats teach more than victories. I could have knocked out at first, but my self confidence… I knew he couldn’t beat me, but I lost my self confidence and I learned with that. If I have an opportunity, I won’t let it pass. If I have to knock out with one second of fight, it will be with one second. My way is just a little late, I get back to the end of the line, but I’ll be there and face Fedor.

Did you met him on the backstage of the event?

Yes, in the hotel, on CBS backstage... He’s a good guy, humble, showed why he’s there. He answers everyone, takes pictures with everyone, there’s no bad time to him. The guy is very humble, he has to be an example to a lot of arrogant people that we see on MMA. He’s the best of the world and very humble.