Tim Sylvia
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| Tim Sylvia
|
|
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Maine-iac |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | March 5, 1976 |
| Fighting out of | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| Town of birth | Eastbrook, Maine |
| Fighting style | submission wrestling, Kickboxing |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 25 |
| By knockout | 16 |
| By submission | 2 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 0 |
Timothy Deane "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion and holds a professional record of 25 wins and 3 losses. He trains as a member of the Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) camp and is part of their MFSE (Miletich Fighting System Elite) group.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Martial arts background
He joined a Karate school as a child, and began wrestling in high school. After graduation, Sylvia worked construction, hanging sheetrock, and painting houses. During this time he decided to take up boxing and grappling, and after training for a year, Sylvia entered his first grappling contest, taking first place in his division. Soon after, he got the opportunity to fight in a Rhode Island no-holds-barred amateur event, in which he knocked out his opponent in 17 seconds. His original nickname was "The Grizzly Bear."
A long time UFC fan, Sylvia and some friends attended UFC 28 in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2000. Arriving early at the arena, they went inside, and happened to see former UFC champion and MMA trainer Pat Miletich. Miletich asked Tim "You are a big son of a bitch! Do you fight?", to which Sylvia replied "A little, but I have a hard time finding training partners and getting fights." Miletich simply said "Come to Iowa"[1], and in late 2000, Sylvia sold all of his belongings and moved to Bettendorf, Iowa, to train with Team Miletich.
[edit] Early professional career
Sylvia made his professional MMA debut in 2001 fighting for the IFC. He would go on to rack up 13 straight wins with 10 knockouts in organizations such as "SuperBrawl, and Extreme Challenge. In 2002, Sylvia signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and won a TKO victory over Cabbage Correira at UFC 39 when Correira's corner threw in the towel. Sylvia would go on to defeat Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41, winning his first UFC Heavyweight Championship, and defended his title with another quick victory over Gan McGee at UFC 44.
After the fight with McGee, Sylvia tested positive for the banned substance Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. He was stripped of his title, handed a six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He later commented that the steriod usage was for shedding excess weight. Sylvia apologized for his wrongdoing and made no effort to claim innocence.[2]
[edit] Injury
At UFC 48 in June 2004, Sylvia returned to face Frank Mir for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship he lost. Early on in the fight, Mir trapped Sylvia's right arm in an armbar submission attempt. As Sylvia tried to escape the hold, Mir was able to complete the armbar and Sylvia's radius bone snapped about three inches below his elbow. Referee Herb Dean immediately stopped the fight and declared Sylvia unable to continue. Sylvia took exception to this decision and repeatedly claimed his arm wasn't broken (though the break could be explicitly seen on the slow-motion replay of the fight), even touching it and moving it around to demonstrate. He demanded the match be restarted, but NSAC officials and UFC President Dana White, acting on the doctor's opinion and in the interests of Sylvia's health, officially ended the fight and awarded Mir the title. Sylvia was taken to a local hospital, where an x-ray revealed that his arm was in fact broken; he then took several months off to recuperate.
[edit] Return
Six months after his loss to Frank Mir, Sylvia returned (with a titanium plate in his forearm) with a victory over Wes Sims at SuperBrawl 38. In February 2005, Sylvia made his return to the UFC, taking on Andrei Arlovski to crown an interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, as Mir, while still the nominal UFC champion, had suffered a motorcycle accident which left him unable to defend his title. Sylvia was knocked to the ground by an overhand right, and while on the ground, was caught in an heel hook. Sylvia quickly tapped out but was visibly angry afterwards.
In May of that same year, Sylvia defeated Mike Block in the IFC by TKO, then went on to face MMA veteran Tra Telligman at UFC 54. With one second left in the first round, Sylvia landed a left head kick, which knocked Telligman out completely. Sylvia made his cable television debut next, fighting Assuerio Silva on Spike TV's Ultimate Fight Night 3, winning a unanimous decision victory after three rounds, in a match that was declared to decide the next #1 heavyweight contender. Sylvia was ill with the flu and defecated himself during the fight which was visible when his trunks were partially pulled down. [3]
At UFC 59, Sylvia was finally awarded his rematch with the now-outright champion Andrei Arlovski. During the fight, Sylvia was knocked down by Arlovski, only to immediately stand up, and in turn knock Arlovski out within 10 seconds and secure a TKO victory, once again taking the title of UFC Heavyweight Champion. Soon after the match, Sylvia requested and was given a rematch with Arlovski. Their third match took place at UFC 61, with Sylvia remaining champion by unanimous decision.
Sylvia next fought Jeff Monson at UFC 65. Billed as a classic "striker vs. grappler" match, Sylvia won again by unanimous decision.
On March 3, 2007, Sylvia lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Randy Couture via unanimous decision, giving Couture his fifth UFC Championship. In the post-fight interview, Sylvia cited an injury which had not allowed him to perform, drawing loud boos from the crowd.
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| 23 Wins (16 KO's, 2 submission, 5 decisions), 3 Losses (2 submissions, 1 decision), 0 Draws | |||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round, Time | Notes | |
| 3/3/2007 | Loss | Randy Couture | UFC 68 | Decision (Unanimous) | Round 5, 5:00 | Lost the UFC Heavyweight Title. | |
| 11/18/2006 | Win | Jeff Monson | UFC 65 | Decision (Unanimous) | Round 5, 5:00 | Match was for the UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 7/8/2006 | Win | Andrei Arlovski | UFC 61 | Decision (Unanimous) | Round 5, 5:00 | Match was for UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 4/15/2006 | Win | Andrei Arlovski | UFC 59 | TKO (Punches) | Round 1, 2:43 | Regained UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 1/16/2006 | Win | Assuerio Silva | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3 | Decision (Unanimous) | Round 3, 5:00 | ||
| 8/20/2005 | Win | Tra Telligman | UFC 54 | KO (Head kick) | Round 1, 4:59 | ||
| 5/21/2005 | Win | Mike Block | IFC-Caged Combat | TKO | Round 1, 1:26 | ||
| 2/5/2005 | Loss | Andrei Arlovski | UFC 51 | Submission (Achilles lock) | Round 1, 0:47 | Match was for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 12/12/2004 | Win | Wes Sims | Superbrawl 38 | TKO (Punches) | Round 1, 1:32 | ||
| 6/19/2004 | Loss | Frank Mir | UFC 48 | Technical Submission (Injury) | Round 1, 0:50 | Match was for the UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 9/26/2003 | Win | Gan McGee | UFC 44 | TKO (Punches) | Round 1, 1:54 | Failed drug test and stripped of title after fight. | |
| 2/28/2003 | Win | Ricco Rodriguez | UFC 41 | TKO (Strikes) | Round 1, 3:09 | Won UFC Heavyweight Title | |
| 9/27/2002 | Win | Wesley Correira | UFC 39 | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | Round 2, 1:43 | ||
| 7/27/2002 | Win | Jeff Gerlick | Extreme Challenge 48 | TKO | Round 1, 3:17 | ||
| 4/27/2002 | Win | Mike Whitehead | Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 | TKO (Strikes) | Round 1, 2:38 | ||
| 4/27/2002 | Win | Jason Lambert | Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 | TKO (Strikes) | Round 2, 4:13 | ||
| 4/27/2002 | Win | Boyd Ballard | Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 | KO (Knee) | Round 1, 3:21 | ||
| 4/26/2002 | Win | Mike Whitehead | Superbrawl 24-ROTC 1 | TKO | Round 1, 3:46 | ||
| 3/16/2002 | Win | Matt Fremmbling | Extreme Challenge 47 | Decision | Round 2, 5:00 | ||
| 3/16/2002 | Win | Gino De La Cruz | Extreme Challenge 47 | TKO | Round 1, 0:43 | ||
| 2/16/2002 | Win | Ernest Henderson | Extreme Challenge 46 | TKO | Round 1, 0:36 | ||
| 11/17/2001 | Win | Greg Wikan | EC-Extreme Challenge Trials | Submission (Choke) | Round 3, 2:20 | ||
| 8/24/2001 | Win | Ben Rothwell | Extreme Challenge 42 | Decision | Round 3, 5:00 | ||
| 6/2/2001 | Win | Greg Wikan | UW-Ultimate Fight Minnesota | TKO (Towel) | Round 1, 5:00 | ||
| 4/7/2001 | Win | Gabe Beauperthy | GC 3-Showdown at Soboba | Submission (Choke) | Round 2, 4:16 | ||
| 1/19/2001 | Win | Randy Durant | IFC-Battleground 2001 | TKO | Round 1, 2:05 | ||
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Previous champion Ricco Rodriguez |
9th UFC Heavyweight Champion February 28, 2003 - June 19, 2004 |
Next champion Frank Mir |
| Previous champion Andrei Arlovski |
12th UFC Heavyweight Champion April 15, 2006 - March 3, 2007 |
Next champion Randy Couture |
