Former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion, Tim ‘The Mainiac’ Sylvia was one of the original big men of the Octagon. At 6’8″ in height he was one of the tallest individuals to compete in the UFC at the time. Prior to entering the Octagon, Tim Sylvia won several local tournaments in Iowa, defeating multiple opponents on the same night on two occasions.
Sylvia came into the UFC with an undefeated record. Additionally, he won his first UFC fight with Wesley ‘Cabbage’ Correira due to Technical Knockout (TKO) when Cabbage’s corner threw in a towel, which happens to be quite an infrequent situation. Only on three other occasions has a UFC fight been stopped due to a corner throwing in a towel mid-round.
Sylvia’s next fight was a title shot against then champion Ricco Rodriguez, and while most pundits didn’t give Tim much of a chance, he knocked out Rodriguez in the first round, capturing the belt. Initially, when he won his first UFC title, he wore the belt everywhere – from trips to Walmart to allegedly while having sexual relations.
Another fun fact about Tim is that he was on a reality TV dating show called ‘Blind Date’. At one point, several UFC fighters were involved in this dating show. The producers even invited Nick Diaz to Blind Date but he turned it down. While Tim’s blind date did not work out, he did get married recently.
Something interesting that many might be unaware of is that Tim Sylvia was a part-time police officer in the state of Illinois. The multitasker, works 8 hours per month. He stated,
“Yeah, if I want to (do more than 8 hours a month), yeah, but if I have a fight coming up, I will work eight hours and then I can dedicate the next four weeks, not having to worry about you know I have to my face shaved and so on and so forth so I will shave my face, go to work, and then grow it out for my look I have for fighting and focus on that. But it also sets me up for when I’m done fighting, you know when I’m done fighting I can apply for a full-time position in their department and make you know $60k a year and full [benefits] and take care of all my knees and elbow problems and hand problems I’m going to have after fighting.”
When I began watching the UFC, I was impressed with his immense size and intense knockout power. Unfortunately Sylvia’s MMA career has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. He tested positive for a banned substance in his third UFC fight against Gan McGee and relinquished the heavyweight title.
Tim captured the championship once again in 2006, in a rematch with Andrei Arlovski. He eventually lost the title to Randy Couture and left the UFC shortly thereafter to test his chances against Fedor Emelianenko in Affliction. Sylvia was submitted by Fedor in the first round, then faced Ray Mercer in a boxing match, where he came in very out of shape, and was knocked out by the very first punch that Mercer threw.
The loss to Mercer made Tim a laughing stock of the MMA community, and was the beginning of the end of his career. Sylvia continued fighting, amassing a record of 7-4 (1 NC) post the Mercer debacle; however he continued struggling with his weight and injuries and eventually retired from competition.
Due to the need for monetary funds at one point in time, Tim had partaken in slap fighting. Subjectively, this is perhaps seen as an inferior combat sport. He’s a former UFC Heavyweight champion; sadly, it seems as if Tim was just doing whatever he had to make money.
MMA & Boxing Author | Business Development Consultant
I have been a fan and avid viewer of all combat sports for decades. I was once a Judoka, which is what eventually piqued my interest in Mixed Martial Arts. I have been a spectator of the UFC since 2001. For 25 years I’ve worked in healthcare, and now am trying to make something that was a hobby, into a full-time endeavor.