Tim Sylvia: The Downfall of the UFC Heavyweight Champion
By Kevin Nelson
The career of Tim Sylvia…
What went wrong for the former two time UFC Heavyweight champion?
If there ever was a fighter who truly was not appreciated in their time it is Tim Sylvia. He was notoriously booed during his reign as UFC Champion. His mauling, clinching style of fighting was not exactly entertaining, but what was not talked about were the heart, determination and dedication that he displayed in his fights.
The thing I remember the most about Sylvia was his lack of athletic ability but yet how he seemed to always remain on top in the UFC.
When I look at Sylvia’s career, the downfall seemed to start after losing his title to Randy Couture. The heavyweight division was Sylvia’s after regaining his title back from Andrei Arlovski, and he would make two title defenses (Arlovski, Jeff Monson).
With the announcement of Randy Couture coming out of retirement to face Sylvia, the MMA world was abuzz; many thought that Couture was crazy to be facing the big striker. Also Couture was coming off a loss at light heavyweight and not fighting for a year.
What would happen is sheer dominance from Randy Couture as Sylvia was absolutely overwhelmed. What would follow is a bounce back win against young contender Brandon Vera. Following that was a title fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In that fight Sylvia dominated until getting choked out.
After that fight Sylvia requested a release from the UFC and a contract with upstart promotion Affliction. His first fight was against Fedor Emelianenko.
The fight would end in devastating fashion with Sylvia getting knocked out in 36 seconds. After that devastating loss, he was not the same fighter anymore. He would take a fight with former WBO Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Ray Mercer, a fight that many felt was an embarrassing black eye to the sport of MMA.
The fight would end in 9 seconds. Mercer connected with a right hand and would stop Sylvia in 9 seconds. Sylvia would weigh over 300 pounds in that fight. He would win 3 straight and things seemed to be looking up for him as he was reportedly a win away from getting back into the UFC, when he would face former TUF fighter Abe Wagner.
The fight would be stopped in 32 seconds and Sylvia’s dream of returning in the UFC was dashed.
My take on Sylvia is that he was a big fighter with a lot of heart who surpassed many expectations and simply overachieved in MMA. His decline began when he foolishly thought he could stand and trade with a boxer (Mercer) and not have to train as hard as he once did.
He was simply not a good enough athlete to cut corners in MMA. With his weight gain and taking freak show fights (Pudzianowski), Sylvia also seemed to lose something along the way as well and that’s pride.
I truly hope that if Sylvia continues to fight he gives 100 percent effort and dedication to this sport. Sylvia will forever be known as the hard luck fighter of this generation who was never quite appreciated by the fans and media and that’s a shame because a 2 time heavyweight champion belongs in one place and that’s the UFC hall of fame.