Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antônio Silva

In the main event of Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva, Fedor Emelianenko took on Antonio Silva in a quarterfinal matchup in the organization's heavyweight tournament. Emelianenko came into the fight after his shocking upset loss to Fabricio Werdum, while Silva came in riding a two-fight win streak.

Silva jabbed early, and Fedor responded with his trademark powerful looping punches. Silva countered and landed in a tense first minute of action. Silva landed another low kick and then pushed Fedor up against the fence. The referee separated the fighters, and in the next exchange Silva popped Fedor with a hard punch that snapped his head back. Silva pushed Fedor against the cage again, and the fight went to the ground when Silva fell to his back to escape a guillotine choke. Fedor stood over Silva and dove into half-guard, landing some punches and then missing on a kimura attempt. Back to the feet and Silva landed another hard right hand that bloodied Fedor's nose, and again the fighters clinched. The fighters separated and exchanged a huge series of punches, difficult to tell how hurt either man was. The fighters fell to the ground with Silva on top as the exciting round ended.

Silva moved in with a takedown immediately to begin round two. Silva, from half guard, looked to land punches while Fedor avoided major damage. Silva passed to side controland then full mount, putting Emelianenko in dangerous position. Silva took Fedor's back and then full mount again, with Fedor look increasingly desperate to escape. Silva threw down punch after punch and then tightened up an arm triangle choke that looked tight. Fedor escaped yet was still stuck on his back, now with half-guard again. Both fighters looked tired as Fedor had his mouth wide open for air. Silva rolled for a kneebar, allowing Fedor to escape and attack for a heel-hook in a dramatic sequence. Silva leaned up and wagged his finger to indicate he was in no trouble, and the round expired.

In between rounds there was confusion as to whether or not the fight had been stopped due to the badly swollen right eye of Fedor. The result then became official, with the referee and doctor deeming Fedor was unfit to continue the bout. The victory gave Silva the biggest win of his career, and handed the second-straight loss to Emelianenko, who had looked a step slower than his old self throughout the fight.

Speaking to Gus Johnson in the post-fight interview, Bigfoot Silva commented "I trained hard in Boca Raton with my camp... All the people say Fedor, Fedor, Fedor... I showed the world now."

Emelianenko, given a chance also to speak to Gus Johnson, "Thank you very much for your love and support, something went wrong from the start, and maybe it's time to leave." Answering to a more direct follow up question of whether or not he would retire, "Yes maybe it's the last time... I had a great meaningful sports life, and maybe it's God's will... Thank you very much for your love and warm support."