(Photo courtesy of FCFighter.com.)

No, it’s not like he was hoping we’d all forget about it. EliteXC’s heavyweight champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva — who pissed dirty, horse-steroid style following his TKO win over Justin Eilers at “Unfinished Business” in July — has enlisted attorney Howard Jacobs to help him formally appeal his suspension. Jacobs is the same lawyer who helped Sean Sherk knock his one-year Nandrolone suspension down to six months. Silva has until tomorrow to file an appeal, then 30 days to request a special hearing for his case. Without the appeal, he would have to appear at the CSAC’s next public hearing, scheduled for November 20th.

As MMA Weekly reports, Silva and his camp maintain that his medical condition of acromegaly, or “gigantism,” precludes him from taking steroids in the first place:

Silva’s American representative, Alex Davis…said that Silva’s tumor has caused him to produce as much as 20 times the normal amount of growth hormone in the body. “It would be completely insensible or even dangerous to make use of any other steroids or substances that could worsen that kind of problem,” he said. Following the CSAC’s suspension, Davis says he had Silva tested for steroids at the Aegis Sciences Corporation — a facility he says is on the CSAC’s approved list of testing facilities — and results were negative.

(“Yeah man, so this is like, one of the *actual tires* that came off of Rampage’s truck. No shit. Got it off Craigslist.” Photo of The Grim by Esther Lin.)

Nick Diaz and Brett Rogers won’t be sitting on their hands waiting for their arch-rivals KJ Noons and Kimbo Slice to become available — MMA Junkie reports that both fighters have been scheduled to appear at EliteXC’s November 8th event, which will be broadcast on Showtime. Their opponents haven’t been announced yet, but EliteXC’s Jared Shaw confirmed that Joey Villasenor will also be part of the event; rumor has it that he could face Robbie Lawler for the middleweight title.

Speaking of the Showtime card, FiveOuncesofPain reports that EliteXC wants to add Eddie Alvarez to the lineup, and build up to a fight for the vacated lightweight title if him and Nick Diaz win their fights and KJ Noons continues to be a problem. Side note: Before Diaz competes again for EliteXC, he’ll head to Japan to battle Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at DREAM.6 (September 23rd; Saitama, Japan) for DREAM’s welterweight title. In other EliteXC news…

— A fight between Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos and Yoko Takahashi has been officially added to the undercard of Saturday Night Fights III on October 4th. If time permits, the match will be shown on the broadcast on a tape-delay basis. Cyborg vows to improve on her last performance by knocking Takahashi out three times in the first round.

— EliteXC’s heavyweight champ Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva has released a longer statement about his steroid bust. Some highlights:

(Image courtesy of MMA Mania)

From Antonio Silva’s manager Alex Davis, via the UG:

On Behalf of Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, as his Manager I come to this forum to declare Antonio’s innocence. These are Antonio’s words:

Dear Family, Friends, Fans and Public, I did not use the steroid Boldenone, or any other steroid of prohibited substance. I dont agree and never have agreed with the use of this kind of product in order to win, for this is cheating. I will go to the full extent of my power and the law to prove my innocence in this matter.

Looks like we may have another Sean Sherk situation on our hands. Sherk’s one-year suspension for Nandrolone was reduced to six months after he raised questions about the potential mishandling of his urine sample (which the California State Athletic Commission was never able to answer). As stubborn as the CSAC tends to be, a suspension-reduction is probably the best-case scenario for Silva. After all, proof for his side of the story is going to be very hard to come by…

(Joe Riggs won’t be fighting tonight. Sucks, buddy. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

Yesterday, we passed along a Sherdog report that claimed Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva had agreed to face Sergei Kharitonov in an EliteXC heavyweight title fight. Awesome matchup, right? Unfortunately, EliteXC’s Jared Shaw refutes it, telling FiveOuncesofPain “That fight is 100 percent not happening.”

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.

Worthy? Possibly. As worthy as Kharitonov? Probably not. But J. Shaw wasn’t quite finished peeing on our parade. Regarding previous reports that Kimbo Slice was slated to face Brett Rogers in October, Shaw said “A fight could possibly take place between Kimbo and Rogers within the next 12 months,” but nothing was official yet. And as for rumors that Gary Shaw was on his way out of EliteXC, Jared denied those as well:

“I’m not gonna lie to you; the Tim Russert episode really struck a cord with Gary. He has an extensive travel schedule and is a workaholic much the way Tim was… And (the) truth is he’s getting up there in age. So Gary is at a point now where he just can’t keep up the constant back and forth to California from his home (in New Jersey). And so he’s just taking a step back in his life, not in the company (and) not being pushed. Just taking some time to be healthy and enjoy everything he’s built from the ground up. The creator rarely gets to smile at his artwork because he’s so busy making more.”

According to Sherdog, Antonio Silva has verbally agreed to fight Russian PRIDE standout Sergei Kharitonov for EliteXC’s vacant heavyweight crown at “Saturday Night Fights” on July 26th, pending approval from the California State Athletic Commission; the CSAC previously blocked Silva from competing at K-1 Dynamite!! USA last June due to a pituitary gland tumor, but “Bigfoot/Pezao” underwent surgery last summer to have it removed.

Kharitonov holds a career record of 15-3, with notable wins over Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, and Semmy Schilt. If the matchup comes together, it would certainly alleviate some of the concerns we’ve had regarding the EliteXC heavyweight title’s legitimacy, considering that Kharitonov is more talented and deserving of a belt than any other heavyweight currently on their roster. So keep your fingers crossed, and you might just see Silva vs. Kharitonov headlining the three-fight Showtime card that will lead into the CBS broadcast.

In other news…

In his 10 professional matches, Antonio “Bigfoot/Junior” Silva (9-1) has never been out of the first round. Eight of those fights ended in brutal KO/TKO victories, earning Silva a reputation as a lead-fisted brute who’s not to be trifled with, and compelling EliteXC’s Gary Shaw to claim that Silva could hang with any heavyweight in the world. But his last fight was different: At EliteXC: Renegade (11/10/07), Silva actually ended Jonathan Wiezorek’s night via rear-naked-choke — Bigfoot was evolving. Silva faces Celebrity Rehab resident Ricco Rodriguez Saturday night at Street Certified. If it turns out that Silva has more ways to win than just his enormous fists, Ricco will be popping some painkillers after this one. (If Dr. Drew lets him, that is.) Enjoy, and forgive the sound un-synchronization:

(Victor Valenzuela and Krazy Horse.)

Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett — the unhinged lightweight journeyman who is scheduled to fight at EliteXC’s “Street Certified” event on February 16 — was arrested yesterday for domestic assault. His arraignment is scheduled for today, and he has already been replaced on a King of the Cage card that will happen this Thursday; Bennett was booked to fight Victor Valenzuela, who will now be facing Matt Ver Halen. Bennett was supposed to fight Valenzuela at an EliteXC/Strikeforce event in June of last year, but that fight was also canceled after Bennett was arrested on charges of assault and false imprisonment. His status for next month’s “Street Certified” card has not yet been determined.

Bennett has actually been arrested many, many times before on drug and assault charges. But no matter how times cuffs are slapped on the Horse, his happily-go-lucky spirit is never broken. For proof, check out this compilation of all his smilin’ mugshots (skip past the first 0:28), and watch ’til the end for his special message to the kids:

The good news for EliteXC is that they’ve found an opponent for heavyweight rising star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the “Street Certified” card. Silva — who EliteXC live events prez Gary Shaw has claimed “could knock out any heavyweight in the UFC” — will face former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez; both men have previously fought as super-heavyweights. Speaking of drugs, Rodriguez makes his first appearance on VH1′s Celebrity Rehab this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.