Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers fight expected to be finalized this afternoon (UPDATED)
June 30, 2008 by Sam Caplan
(Pictured: Justin Eilers)
Update: Cox confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com on Tuesday afternoon that a signed contract was indeed FAX’ed back to EliteXC officials on Monday evening.
A verbal agreement for Antonio Silva to fight former UFC heavyweight title challenger Justin Eilers during EliteXC’s second-ever CBS telecast on July 26 has been secured.
EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw revealed the news when contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier this afternoon.
Five Ounces of Pain later contacted Eilers’ manager, Monte Cox, who indicated that it is their intention to FAX a signed contract to EliteXC officials later today.
It is still uncertain whether the Silva vs. Eilers fight will be for the vacant EliteXC heavyweight title, but Shaw indicated a belt will more than likely be at stake when the two square off.
Other fighters such as IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson and Sergei Kharitonov had been rumored as potential challengers for a possible title fight vs. Silva. When asked about specific names, Shaw declined to answer, but he did state that EliteXC officials had contacted several other fighters in addition to Eilers in regards to fighting Silva. According to Shaw, the other fighters had either outright declined the fight or priced themselves out of the picture.
Eilers is perhaps best known to casual fight fans for his first round TKO loss against then-UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the main event of UFC 53 in 2005. He then returned to the UFC at UFC 57, where he was knocked out at 1:25 of round 1 against Brandon Vera. The loss to Vera dropped Eilers’ UFC record to 1-3 and he was not brought back to the promotion. However, since leaving the UFC, he has won 10 of his last 11 fights and is on a current three fight win streak.
Eilers last competed at IFC’s Cage Combat card on April 26, where recorded a TKO over heavyweight veteran Wade Shipp at 3:50 of round 4. Some of his more notable wins in his last eleven fights include victories over Matt Thompson, Sherman Pendergarst, Jimmy Ambriz, along with a previous win over Shipp.
Silva is 3-0 lifetime in EliteXC and holds a 10-1 overall lifetime record in MMA. A product of American Top Team in Florida, Silva’s most notable wins have been recorded against Tengis Tedoradze, Ruben “Warpath” Villareal, Tom Erikson, Wesley “Cabbage” Correia, and former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez.
EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” on July 26 will emanate from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. and will be headlined by a rematch for the EliteXC middleweight title between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. In a co-featured bout, Jake Shields is also scheduled to fight for the vacant EliteXC welterweight title vs. Nick Thompson.
Isn’t Eiler’s best know for the Ric Flair fall when getting KO’d? This doesn’t come across as a Title Match.
you gotta be kidding me…justin eilers???
didnt even now eilers didnt fight for the ufc anymore….won ten outta last 11 outside the octagon…must be very local level
LMAO!!!! the Ric Flair comparison - - beautiful….no blades under the ring though
That does not excite me at all.
oh ffs. shaw was just desperate to get someone with UFC experience into this bout for the added credibility. I wonder if he even looked past the words “UFC” on eilers’ resume. That said, Eilers is tough enough to beat cans but won’t present a problem for Bigfoot- another sacrificial lamb from shaw. I’m not sure if shaw is a fool or a genius, because it seems like most of the world doesn’t care how many tomato cans he throws his stars up against as long as there is a bloody finish.
“When asked about whether an opponent was in place for Silva, Shaw indicated that one has been selected that is worthy of fighting for a title but that a deal was in the process of being finalized.”
WTF makes Eilers worthy of fighting for the title?? What a complete joke.
Last time I saw Silva fight it was against an out of shape Ricco Rodriguez. If Ricco had been in better shape, I think he would’ve won. Although he hasn’t had success in the UFC, Eilers may be a tougher test for Silva than some people think.
@#8
Ricco Rodriguez is also a former UFC champion with wins over guys like Monson, Couture, Arlovski, Buentello, TK, Pete Williams, and more… He hasn’t won as many fights lately as Eilers (and is also not in his best shape) but he has also fought a much higher caliber of competition both in the old days and lately than Eilers. I think Silva will have an easier time with Eilers simply because Eilers is not as skilled as Ricco.
Disapointing
I was hpoing to see Bigfoot take on a credible challenger but it looks as thoug Elite wants Silva to win the title in a dominating fashion.
Sergei Karitonov(?)’s management is saying Sergei is fighting Silva if Silva can get cleared? WTF?
Eilers is a good fighter, not a great fighter, but a good fighter, and should be a good test for Silva. He’s one of those fighters that either looks good winning, or makes someone else look good in losing.
I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see him upset Silva.
TFK
#8 Mike,
I find it strange that you make the not that Ricco was out of shape, but leave out the fact that Silvia had a badly injured knee.
All things being good, I would say Silvia easily beats Ricco.
sorry, Silva.
and “note”. sorry.
#7
what makes Eilers worthy? In that class, just the fact thjat he weighs between 205 and 265 makes him worthy, lol.
#16 truer words were never spoken
…wow…
…lol…
Justin Eilers? are you serious?
i would’ve never guessed that in my life..
#1,
i assume you’re talking about the Brandon Vera KO? Ohhhhh, no, you’re talking about the Paul Buentello KO, lol. where he stumbled around trying to stay standing and then collapsed…LOL!
yup.. that’s the first time I ever saw him.. lol.. but.. he’s also known for this famous quote “I’ll fight my own mama if she gets in the way of me getting a title belt”… or something along those lines.. lol..
but ya,
this matchup’s pretty much a joke, i mean, i can see where you’re coming from Wolfe, but we’re talking about Bigfoot Freakin’ Silva here.. Eilers’ last 10 wins or so HAVE ended in TKO’s and Submissions to strikes, so he seems to be doing better than he was in the UFC.. but.. all the time he’s been winning in small organizations.. Bigfoot’s been winning in BIG ORGANIZATIONS.. soo.. i’m still going with Bigfoot..
as sad as it is eilers is as good as anyone they have. he does deserve a title shot more than anyone else. eilers would have the large odds over kimbo(in a fair fight). the shaws once again show that they are 2 or 3 levels lower than other organizations and not even close to the ufc. there are more good heavy weights free agents than any other weight class and this is there title match……good luck with that
#13
It was easy to see how Ricco’s conditioning affected his performance; he was gassed out in the final round. On the other hand, I can’t recall anything in Silva’s performance that suggested a serious injury. If that’s what he or his camp said after the split decision, who’s to say otherwise. It’s a little hazy in my mind, but did Silva or his camp disclose the injury before the fight with Ricco?
As far as Eilers is concerned, he has to be the underdog by anybody’s estimation. I think he has a chance, though. Who knows? Maybe Silva has yet another serious injury, and Eilers will be in better condition than Ricco.
6 of Eilers 10 wins since leaving the UFC have been against fighters that don’t have a winning record.
The one time he stepped up in competition lately was to fight Pedro Rizzo and he got dominated. Only reason he wasnt knocked out in that fight was because he got saved by the bell.
A squash match for Antonio Silva, dont let Eilers recent record fool you. Everytime he steps up in competition he loses pretty soundly.
[...] According to Five Oz., Eilers and Silva have verbally agreed to the fight and the deal is close to being finalized. EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw revealed the news when contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier this afternoon. [...]
#20 Mike,
I believe it was a torn acl, but can’t remember for sure. I’ll see what i can find later. It wasn’t widely known until after the fight, and definitely affected his performance and thus the extended layoff.
And yes, I’m pulling for bigfoot, if for no other reason, than the celebratory cartwheel exhibition, lol!!
[...] of MMA fans treat you like you’re a joke, please refer to the Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers booking for the EliteXC heavyweight [...]
Mike,
This is what I found on many sites, but no specifics:
“Coming off a less than impressive split decision victory over Ricco Rodriguez in February, “Bigfoot” is eager to show the fans a knee injury he sustained prior to that bout was a factor in his lack luster performance, and that he is in fact a much better fighter than he showed that night.”
#26–bjjdenver:
I agree it was a lackluster performance and I’m looking forward to watching him fight again. Pressure’s on for this one.
Agreed. And I think EXC needs badly for him to look impressive. They have Kimbo as a draw, but Bigfoot is their only viable top 20 HW. They will probably have to cross promote with another org to get a top HW matchup, so they need Silva to make it attractive.
[...] “Bigfoot”, though EliteXC attempted to secure various different opponents according to FiveOuncesofPain.com: “…Fighters such as IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson and Sergei Kharitonov had been [...]
Well seeing as they work with Dream why not get Cro Cop?
I love this. I always loved Eilers and thought he got a bad rap when blowing out his knee (something he couldnt control) against Arlovski and then trying to come back waaaaaay too soon to fight Vera. The dude is tough.