Antonio Silva says Fedor Emelianenko would have “lost his eye” if he continued with Strikeforce heavyweight bout

Antonio Silva recorded the largest victory of his career last Saturday.

Not only is he one step closer to the finals of this prestigious heavyweight Grand Prix, which features some of the best fighters in the world, but Silva also defeated former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko in the process.

The Brazilian juggernaut utilized his size to keep Emelianenko on his back for nearly the entire second-round, mounting the Russian, brutalizing him with a heavy dose of ground-and-pound that left his right eye nearly swollen shut and beaten red. Ringside officials called a halt to the bout, and Silva was declared the winner. However, Antonio lament’s that should Emelianenko had return for the third round, he would have risked more than a loss, but his eye.

Brazilian media forum TATAME caught up with Silva after his win over “The Last Emperor” and he had this to say about Emelianenko, should he have continued into the third-round.

“Many said he could’ve returned for round number three, but I’ll tell you something… Because of Fedor’s heart and his attitude as a professional, he’d have returned for sure, but he hadn’t conditions to fight, because if he returned, he’d have lost his eye, because I’d keep trying to hit it all the time”, said Silva.

“The doctors are there for it, to talk with the athlete and don’t let him to get hurt”.

I for one wasn’t opposed to the stoppage. I was actually proud that Fedor showed the kind of heart and desire to continue in the fight, as the 265-pound Silva gave him plenty of opportunities to quit during the bout, however Emelianenko survived a ground-and-pound barrage, and a deep arm-triangle choke.

So if it was up to Fedor, he would have returned for the third-round, and who knows what would have happened there. In fact, a lot of people had Fedor taking the first-round and Silva with the second obviously, so it could have been anybody’s fight at that point.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Silva’s comments? Do you agree with his assessment of the bout? Sound off in the comment section below.