The Greatest MMA News Column 03.02.10: The Fall of Tim Sylvia

Posted by Dan Plunkett on 03.02.2010

411's Dan Plunkett takes a look at Tim Sylvia's fall from grace. How did it happen? Who is to blame? Plus, Strikeforce returns to CBS with a stacked card, but can they draw viewers? All that and more in this edition of The Greatest MMA News Column!

The Fall of Tim Sylvia

On Saturday, it was reported that Tim Sylvia had three possible fights on the table. The first was against Josh Barnett in Dream, which was turned down by Sylvia's manager Monte Cox. A fight against strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski was possible for April 23 on a card promoted by Cox. The last option was a rematch of a 2004 bout against Wes Sims.

Reading that report made it clear just how far the soon-to-be 34 year old Sylvia has fallen.

After all, this isn't just any former UFC fighter. Tim Sylvia is a two time UFC Heavyweight Champion who has fought many of the sport's greatest heavyweights. This is a fighter that headlined two major shows in 2008. Now he's reduced to turning down a fight against Josh Barnett, a top heavyweight who would be in the top 5 had he not failed a drug test, yet considering a bout against Wes Sims. The very same Wes Sims that Sylvia knocked out in less than two minutes previously; and the same guy that has beaten only two people with their own Wikipedia page.

Let's make this clear: Tim Sylvia has the ability to be a top heavyweight fighter in MMA. Certainly not the top fighter, but he could very well be a top ten fighter once again. When you hear Dana White say things like "look, we cut Tim Sylvia, he couldn't cut it in the UFC anymore," he's only saying that in order to discredit a win by Fedor Emelianenko. Can Tim Sylvia do better in the UFC than Mirko Cro Cop or Cheick Kongo currently is? I don't see why not. Unfortunately for Tim, he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It started when Sylvia was dominated by Randy Couture at UFC 68. After that loss he was still in title contention, so he took about against Brandon Vera, who was originally supposed to challenge Tim for the belt at UFC 68. Sylvia won that fight and because Randy Couture was holding out, he was put into an interim title fight against "Minotauro" Nogueira. Sylvia did very well against the second-best heavyweight of all time, knocking him down and controlling the fight for two rounds. But in the third, Nogueira swept Sylvia and submitted him.

When a fighter loses two title fights, it typically takes them a while to get back to another title shot. This wasn't the first time Sylvia had been in this position. In 2004 the heavyweight belt was vacated after Sylvia tested positive for steroids. He was then put in a match against Frank Mir for the title, which Mir won in 50 seconds by breaking Sylvia's arm. After Frank Mir's motorcycle accident, the UFC decided to put together an interim title fight. Sylvia fought Andrei Arlovski for that belt and was subsequently dismantled in 47 seconds.

That time, Sylvia benefitted from the fact that the UFC's heavyweight division was so weak. He only needed three more wins before getting another shot at Arlovski, who by that time was the undisputed champion. After UFC 81, the UFC's heavyweight division was starting to grow. They had interim champion Nogueira, Frank Mir, Heath Herring, Cheick Kongo, Brandon Vera, Fabricio Werdum, Gabriel Gonzaga, Brock Lesnar, and not to mention Randy Couture was still under contract as the heavyweight champion. It would have taken at least 4 wins for Sylvia to get another shot at the belt he so treasured.

Along with his manager Monte Cox, Sylvia decided to request his release from the UFC. Realizing they didn't need him to fight Andrei Arlovski for the title in the main event of every PPV anymore, the UFC granted him his release.

After his departing the UFC Sylvia signed on with Adrenaline MMA, headed by Cox. The deal gave Sylvia the freedom of fighting for Adrenaline and any other MMA promotion that wanted him. At the time, Sylvia said, "I've got three to four years left and want to fight as much as possible, so this is the perfect choice for me at this time."

I believe the main reason Sylvia left was because of how long it would take him to get back to the title. Sylvia was so proud of being the champion that he wore the belt everywhere he went. Be it 7-Eleven, driving in his car, or in the way to the Octagon, Big Tim always wore his belt around his waist. He even admitted to having sex with the belt on, which may have been why Andrei Arlovski was so tentative to pull the trigger in their third fight. Outside the UFC lurked the top heavyweight in the sport, and if Sylvia dethroned him, not only would it be better than having the UFC title, it would also give him free pass to an immediate title shot should he ever go back to the UFC.

Only weeks after Sylvia left the UFC the deal was done. "The Maine-iac" would fight Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Affliction: Banned on July 19. Sylvia was dispatched in just 36 seconds by Fedor, marking his third loss in four fights.

Despite the losses coming against Couture, Nogueira, and Fedor, three of the top heavyweights in the sport, it was tough for Sylvia to get a fight. There weren't many companies that could afford to pay Sylvia his $800,000 price tag. After being left off their second card, Sylvia was penciled in for a slot on the ill-fated Affliction: Trilogy. Before that though, Monte Cox thought it was a swell idea to put Sylvia in a boxing match against former champ Ray Mercer. Mercer, who in his late forties was long past his prime, had just been submitted in an amateur MMA bout by the not-so-submission-savvy Kimbo Slice.



While Mercer was past his prime, there was little doubt he was still a dangerous opponent for Sylvia. There was little doubt Mercer could potentially knock Sylvia out, though Tim had never been knocked out in his career. Other than a paycheck, there was little for Sylvia to gain in this fight.

Originally, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board denied the boxing contest. So Cox packed up his circus tent and moved to Birmingham, Alabama. As it turns out, it would have been illegal for the fight to take place under boxing rules, so it was switched to an MMA bout. Reportedly, there was a gentlemen's agreement to keep it a boxing match, which would have only made it a more dangerous fight for Sylvia given Mercer's power in five ounce gloves.

Immediately, Sylvia threw a kick to start the fight. Mercer countered and caught Tim on the chin. 9 seconds into the fight, Ray Mercer had knocked out Tim Sylvia. Unlike the losses to Couture, Nogueira, and Fedor, with the possible exception of the latter, this was an embarrassing performance. Sylvia showed up in the worst shape of his career at 310 pounds. It was clear the unmotivated Sylvia had not trained for the bout.



It is clear who the blame should fall on for Sylvia's fall from grace. While you can't point the finger at Sylvia and say "it's your fault for not beating Couture, Nogueira, and Fedor," I blame Tim Sylvia for not training for the Mercer bout and not immediately taking him to the ground. But let's face it; he never should have been in that fight. Monte Cox, who has done a great job of managing fighters such as Matt Hughes and Eddie Alvarez, should never have booked that fight. It was the conflict of interest of Monte being both the promoter and the manager that left Tim Sylvia considering fights against the Wes Sims' of the world. Had Cox been thinking like a manager, I have no doubt he would have realized Sylvia was in a no-win situation and gotten him out of that fight.

So what if Sylvia hadn't fought Ray Mercer?

Tim was scheduled to fight Paul Buentello at Affliction: Trilogy. As everyone knows, that event never ended up taking place. I don't believe the UFC would have picked up Sylvia, but there's a great chance he would have ended up in Strikeforce. Being the former UFC champion he is, there a chance he could have replaced either Fabricio Werdum or Antonio Silva on the CBS card.

Thankfully for Tim, Dream seems to at least have some interest in him. I do expect him to fight there, and if he wins he could be in line to fight Josh Barnett or Alistair Overeem for their vacant heavyweight title. The thought of being able to wear a heavyweight title to the local convenience store once again could very well be the motivation Tim Sylvia needs to get back to being considered a top heavyweight mixed martial artist.

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Watch Fighter's Arm Broken at Tuff N Uff on RawVegas.tv

John Gettle breaks William Kowalski's arm at a Tuff-N-Uff event.

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Strikeforce Brings 3 Title Fights to CBS

After reports that it was pushed back to May, Strikeforce will indeed come to CBS in April and the card is stacked. In the main event, Dan Henderson challenges Jake Shields for the middleweight title. Also, Gegard Mousasi takes on Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal for the light heavyweight belt and Gilbert Melendez defends the lightweight title against #2 ranked lightweight Shinya Aoki.

While from a hardcore fan's perspective this is a great card all around, I'm not sure the current lineup will draw the casual fans. Dan Henderson is at his peak popularity following his knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100, but he was never able to prove himself as a true draw. Jake Shields was last seen winning a decision over Jason Miller on Strikeforce's last appearance on CBS. The fight was an exciting ground battle for the first three rounds (to me at least), but the championship rounds had fans running for the concessions and longing for the main event to start.

King Mo has the potential to be a big star. He's charismatic, great with fans, and a very good up-and-coming fighter. Unfortunately, he wasn't built up for his title shot properly. In his last and only Strikeforce appearance, he impressively stopped Mike Whitehead in the first round. The only thing noticeably absent was Mo's entrance, which is part of what made him such a big name within the MMA community. In an ideal world, Mo would have fought a few more times to build his name before getting a title shot, but due to Strikeforce's lack of depth at light heavyweight he gets his shot now. That's why I'm so amazed Strikeforce chose to not air his entrance. They have an extremely limited amount of time to build him up and they leave out one of the most integral parts that help fans get to know and love Mo. If his entrance isn't shown on April 17, I will write a strongly worded letter to Strikeforce explaining my discontent. That'll show them.

As for Mousasi, Melendez, and Aoki, none of them are going to be ratings movers for Strikeforce. What Strikeforce needs is a fighter that will attract the casual fan. Thankfully for them, they have two. One of them is Bobby Lashley. Lashley can attract the pro wrestling fans that typically wouldn't tune into a Strikeforce event. Herschel Walker is another option for Strikeforce, but there are a couple of problems that may arise.

Most prominently, has the novelty of Herschel Walker fighting worn off? The whole basis of the build to his first fight was how this former great football player will do in mixed martial arts. Due to Walker being a high profile former athlete, it received a ton of coverage on ESPN. Can Strikeforce recapture that magic? It will be like a movie sequel. The intrigue has to be different and it has to be taken to a higher level. The higher level is prime time national television, but what is the different intrigue? Can Strikeforce convince people Herschel is attempting to become a legitimate MMA fighter instead of it being just a onetime thing? I'm not so sure.

The second problem is Herschel's placement on the card. When you have three title fights on the card, it's hard to justify Walker in any position but opening the show. However, if Walker opens the show Strikeforce won't have the luxury of building their audience throughout the show because they would lose some of their audience after the fight is over. Instead, I see Strikeforce putting Walker on second to last. That way they can excuse it as a swing bout and build it up along with their main event all night to reduce the number of people tuning out after seeing Walker fight.

As for Walker vs. Jose Canseco, I hope that fight never happens. If it does, I would hope it's not under the banner of a company trying to establish itself as the #2 MMA promotion in the world.

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