Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia has been taking to the internet and social media in attempt to rejoin the promotion. Sylvia has posted a couple of videos on the MMA website The Underground, as well as taking to Twitter to plead his case.
The crux of Sylvia’s argument for another run under the Zuffa umbrella hinges on his 6-1 record in his last seven fights. That number appears impressive on the surface but it’s worth noting that the biggest name (and only name really) he’s defeated during that stretch is Paul Buentello. There is also a victory over World’s Strongest Man competitor and MMA neophyte Mariusz Pudzianowski.
Is Tim Sylvia ready for another run in the UFC?
While his wins aren’t exactly inspiring, the one loss does stand out as a black mark. Sylvia showed up to his Titan Fighting bout with TUF 10 alumni Abe Wagner woefully overweight at 311 pounds, and was knocked out thirty-two seconds into the contest.
UFC President Dana White doesn’t seem warm to a Sylvia comeback, saying flatly “no”, when asked about the subject. White added that he wasn’t really familiar with anything Sylvia had done since another embarrassing first round KO loss to boxer Ray Mercer three years ago.
It’s not just Sylvia’s record that has White cool to a comeback. Sylvia requested and received his release from the UFC in 2008 after losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He complained loudly about his pay in comparison to someone like Brock Lesnar’s, and also slammed the UFC’s business practices. White has a long memory for situations like that, and it’s not really a surprise that White is reluctant to welcome Sylvia back with open arms.
Sylvia’s videos do seem to reflect a maturity process for “The Maine-iac”. He now admits his previous behaviour was “cocky, lazy, and arrogant” and is willing to accept far less money than he is used to to have an opportunity to step back in the Octagon. But the maturity may only go so far, as he continues to insist he can defeat 80% of the current heavyweights on UFC’s roster.
At age 35, Sylvia realizes he is on the downside of his career and that time is running out if he wants one last shot at the big time. There aren’t a lot of fighters out there with his resume, with two separate UFC heavyweight title reigns and fights against all-time greats such as Nogueira, Emelianenko, Couture and Mir. The 6’7 Sylvia still possesses great size, strength, and reach; if he is serious about dropping his asking price then being called up as an injury replacement could be a reasonable possibility.
From a fan’s perspective, it would be interesting to see Sylvia ply his trade against the new generation of UFC heavyweights, the men he claimed he is still able to knock out. Putting Sylvia in the cage opposite someone with the quickness of Brendan Schaub or the size of a Travis Browne would show the MMA world exactly what Sylvia has left in the tank. Sylvia clearly thinks he’s ready, the ball is in Dana White’s court.
