Former UFC title challenger Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is once again taking testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
Silva began doing TRT in preparation for his next fight. He is expected to fight former Bellator Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov in the main event of a Fight Nights Global event in Russia.
“Thank God I’m using it again,” Silva told MMAFighting.com about using TRT. “My life is better, way better, because my testosterone levels are back to normal. I feel with more energy in my day to day life.
“And as an athlete, my muscle fatigue decreased 90 percent between training. I can recover my body better now. It was hard for me before because I was completely tired after every training.”
Silva is currently on a four-fight losing streak. He was released by the UFC after losing three fights in a row to Mark Hunt, Stefan Struve, and Roy Nelson. Since being cut by the UFC, Hunt lost to Ivan Shtyrkov in Russia.
Minakov is undefeated with 19 wins. In Bellator, he defeated UFC veterans Cheick Kong and Alexander Volkov in title fights. He has since left the promotion and has been fighting in his native Russia for the Fight Nights promotion.
“He’s really tough, but there are flaws in his game and we will work on that,” Silva said about Minakov. “I’ve already faced the best heavyweights in the world, and thanks to that I’ll use my experience in this fight.
“I’ll go for the knockout because I know that, in Russia, the decision will always go for them.”
