Tim Sylvia

Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia is a former UFC Heavyweight champion and is a member of the Miletech Fighting Systems Elite group.

Sylvia got into karate was he was young and began wrestling in high school. After high school he got into boxing and grappling. He started taking part in amateur grappling and fighting events and often won. In his first amateur fight, he knocked out his opponent is 17 seconds.

Sylvia’s pro MMA debut came in 2001 with IFC. He posted 13 straight wins, 10 of which came by knockout in various organizations such as SuperBrawl, Ultimate Fight and Extreme Challenge. He signed on with UFC in 2002 and won his first fight against Wesley Correira by TKO at UFC 39. He received his first title fight at UFC 41 and won the UFC Heavyweight title after delivering a TKO to Ricco Rodriguez. In his first title defense Sylvia defeated Gan McGee by TKO, but after the fight he tested positive for the banned substance Stanozolol. He was stripped of his title and received a six-month suspension and $10,000 fine.

After his suspension Sylvia returned to the UFC to face Frank Mir for the vacant UFC Heavyweight championship. Mir locked Sylvia in an arm bar early in the fight and broke his right arm three inches below his elbow. The fight was immediately stopped and Mir was declared the winner.

Sylvia missed six months while his arm healed and made his return with a win over Wes Sims at SuperBrawl 38. He returned to the UFC two months later and faced Andrei Arlovski for the interim UFC Heavyweight title. Mir, the nominal titleholder, was unable to defend his title after suffering a motorcycle accident. Arlovski knocked Sylvia down with a wicked right hand and forced him to submit by applying an Achilles lock.

After the loss to Arlovski, Sylvia won his next two fights versus Tra Telligman and Assuerio Silva to get another shot at Arlovski. In the rematch Sylvia delivered a first-round TKO to reclaim the UFC Heavyweight title. Another rematch with Arlovski followed in which Sylvia won a unanimous decision after the fight went the distance. Sylvia successfully defended his title once more versus Jeff Monson before facing Randy Couture at UFC 68.

Sylvia also went the distance versus Couture but the judges scored the bout in Couture’s favor, giving Couture the bout by unanimous decision. After losing the title Sylvia underwent back surgery and is not expected to fight again until at least October. Sylvia’s current MMA record stands at 23-3 with 16 knockouts and two submissions.