The Rodney Dangerfield of MMA
For a man as massive and talented as Tim Sylvia (Pictures), a man who on Saturday could
become the UFC heavyweight titleholder for a third time, the
"Maine-iac" certainly does not get any respect.
The mixed martial arts world, almost as fickle as the professional boxing scene, has never gravitated toward the Bunyan-esque Sylvia, even though he's responsible for a plethora of highlight-reel knockouts.
Sylvia captured the UFC's genuine heavyweight title by scorching Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) in the first round. He then recaptured the same championship, quicker this time, by halting Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) in their rematch. Now Sylvia stands to win his third belt, albeit an undistinguished "interim" title, yet it seems the man just can't get a fair shake from the media and fans.
People just don't care for Sylvia no matter how good he is.
"I think with the true fans and the people that are knowledgeable about the sport I do" get respect, Sylvia told reporters leading up to the fight. "You got your average bozos that don't know anything about the sport, who see Brock [Lesnar] coming in or see these superstars like Kimbo Slice who really haven't done anything and they think they are studs. I'm always an underdog because I'm always so big and a lot of people don't like me because I'm the biggest guy in the division. So they are always pulling for the underdog."
Sylvia has a point, so much so that even though his fight with former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) is UFC 81's official main event, the bout is not being marketed as the featured attraction.
The intriguing showdown between former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (Pictures) and former collegiate and pro wrestling king Lesnar has snatched virtually all the headlines. Most of the advertising on billboards, buses and taxi cabs strewn across Sin City sport the mugs of Mir and Lesnar -- few contain the likenesses of Sylvia and "Minotauro."
"Brock's done a lot in WWE," Sylvia said in a somewhat sour tone. "He's got a big name. They are [promoting] this as, ‘Is the wrestler going to beat the fighter?' They are trying to hype it up that way. I understand the whole philosophy behind him getting all the exposure. I'll be paying a lot of close attention to it because obviously the winner is going to get a title shot down the road and I plan on becoming the champ again."
For that to happen he'll first have to topple one of the greatest fighters to climb into an MMA combat arena. Nogueira has beaten a virtual who's who of heavyweights and poses one heck of a sturdy roadblock in Sylvia's title quest.
"I'm happy that I get to fight Nogueira," Sylvia said. "I've been wanting to fight him for a long time. He's a great fighter, and it's going to prove a lot of things. The whole dispute with PRIDE and the UFC … [fans and media] were always saying PRIDE heavyweights were better. Lately, we haven't seen that, and Nogueira currently is ranked a little higher than me. I truly believe I can go in there and beat him. The light at the end of the tunnel is it's for another title. So it's good for me and it's good for my career, and if everything goes right, I'll be the champ again."
In the past, Sylvia explained, a nagging back and wrist prevented him from performing up to snuff against Jeff Monson (Pictures), Randy Couture (Pictures) and Brandon Vera (Pictures). Now, though, he said he is in the best shape of his life and that his training camp was without injury. Provided Sylvia enters the Octagon at 100 percent, the aging and well-worn Nogueira might have a lousy night.
Nevertheless, Sylvia acknowledged that even if he has a clean bill of health, a trouncing of the first PRIDE heavyweight champion won't come easy.
"He's a very smart fighter, and I think he knows that the best chance he has to beat me is to get me down on the ground and try his submissions," the powerful striker said. "If he tries to stand up and trade with me, he knows he plays into my hands and knows that's what I want to do. … I know it'll be a tough fight, but my goal is knock him out in the first round."
"I truly believe he is the best heavyweight jiu-jitsu fighter in the world today," Sylvia added. "I mean, he brings to the table being a former PRIDE heavyweight champion. He's a stud. I've been watching him for a long time. I was watching Nogueira when I wasn't even fighting yet, when I was just training. When I started fighting, I was watching him and I was like, ‘Wow, I'd like to fight him one day. He's really, really good.' I truly believe he's somebody I can go in there and beat and move me up in the rankings. Maybe, someday if everything goes right and we beat Nogueira, we can get Fedor to sign a fight. We'll get to shut the world up after that."
After a life of torment and a seemingly endless legion of critics who have doubted him, Sylvia would probably give up his right arm -- but not a title belt -- to prove the naysayers wrong yet again. Those same critics have labeled him the underdog against Nogueira, though Sylvia doesn't mind.
"I always perform best when I'm in the underdog role," he said with a chuckle. "When I'm favored, I usually end up losing. So it's a good spot for me to be in. I like it. I have this thing where I like proving people wrong my whole life. This is just another opportunity I get to do that, and basically I get to stick it to the man."
If by "sticking it to the man," he means delivering a concussive right hand squarely on Nogueira's jaw, Sylvia's stature as an elite heavyweight would then be cemented. Even when he was the reigning UFC champ on two separate occasions, he was always labeled more or less a phony champion due to the fact that both Nogueira and Fedor resided in the PRIDE ring.
On Saturday, however, inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center and in front of potentially millions of viewers the world over, Sylvia will have his chance to pummel at least one of the men always ranked above him.
Maybe then he'll finally get some respect.
The mixed martial arts world, almost as fickle as the professional boxing scene, has never gravitated toward the Bunyan-esque Sylvia, even though he's responsible for a plethora of highlight-reel knockouts.
Sylvia captured the UFC's genuine heavyweight title by scorching Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) in the first round. He then recaptured the same championship, quicker this time, by halting Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) in their rematch. Now Sylvia stands to win his third belt, albeit an undistinguished "interim" title, yet it seems the man just can't get a fair shake from the media and fans.
People just don't care for Sylvia no matter how good he is.
"I think with the true fans and the people that are knowledgeable about the sport I do" get respect, Sylvia told reporters leading up to the fight. "You got your average bozos that don't know anything about the sport, who see Brock [Lesnar] coming in or see these superstars like Kimbo Slice who really haven't done anything and they think they are studs. I'm always an underdog because I'm always so big and a lot of people don't like me because I'm the biggest guy in the division. So they are always pulling for the underdog."
Sylvia has a point, so much so that even though his fight with former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) is UFC 81's official main event, the bout is not being marketed as the featured attraction.
The intriguing showdown between former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (Pictures) and former collegiate and pro wrestling king Lesnar has snatched virtually all the headlines. Most of the advertising on billboards, buses and taxi cabs strewn across Sin City sport the mugs of Mir and Lesnar -- few contain the likenesses of Sylvia and "Minotauro."
"Brock's done a lot in WWE," Sylvia said in a somewhat sour tone. "He's got a big name. They are [promoting] this as, ‘Is the wrestler going to beat the fighter?' They are trying to hype it up that way. I understand the whole philosophy behind him getting all the exposure. I'll be paying a lot of close attention to it because obviously the winner is going to get a title shot down the road and I plan on becoming the champ again."
For that to happen he'll first have to topple one of the greatest fighters to climb into an MMA combat arena. Nogueira has beaten a virtual who's who of heavyweights and poses one heck of a sturdy roadblock in Sylvia's title quest.
"I'm happy that I get to fight Nogueira," Sylvia said. "I've been wanting to fight him for a long time. He's a great fighter, and it's going to prove a lot of things. The whole dispute with PRIDE and the UFC … [fans and media] were always saying PRIDE heavyweights were better. Lately, we haven't seen that, and Nogueira currently is ranked a little higher than me. I truly believe I can go in there and beat him. The light at the end of the tunnel is it's for another title. So it's good for me and it's good for my career, and if everything goes right, I'll be the champ again."
In the past, Sylvia explained, a nagging back and wrist prevented him from performing up to snuff against Jeff Monson (Pictures), Randy Couture (Pictures) and Brandon Vera (Pictures). Now, though, he said he is in the best shape of his life and that his training camp was without injury. Provided Sylvia enters the Octagon at 100 percent, the aging and well-worn Nogueira might have a lousy night.
Nevertheless, Sylvia acknowledged that even if he has a clean bill of health, a trouncing of the first PRIDE heavyweight champion won't come easy.
"He's a very smart fighter, and I think he knows that the best chance he has to beat me is to get me down on the ground and try his submissions," the powerful striker said. "If he tries to stand up and trade with me, he knows he plays into my hands and knows that's what I want to do. … I know it'll be a tough fight, but my goal is knock him out in the first round."
"I truly believe he is the best heavyweight jiu-jitsu fighter in the world today," Sylvia added. "I mean, he brings to the table being a former PRIDE heavyweight champion. He's a stud. I've been watching him for a long time. I was watching Nogueira when I wasn't even fighting yet, when I was just training. When I started fighting, I was watching him and I was like, ‘Wow, I'd like to fight him one day. He's really, really good.' I truly believe he's somebody I can go in there and beat and move me up in the rankings. Maybe, someday if everything goes right and we beat Nogueira, we can get Fedor to sign a fight. We'll get to shut the world up after that."
After a life of torment and a seemingly endless legion of critics who have doubted him, Sylvia would probably give up his right arm -- but not a title belt -- to prove the naysayers wrong yet again. Those same critics have labeled him the underdog against Nogueira, though Sylvia doesn't mind.
"I always perform best when I'm in the underdog role," he said with a chuckle. "When I'm favored, I usually end up losing. So it's a good spot for me to be in. I like it. I have this thing where I like proving people wrong my whole life. This is just another opportunity I get to do that, and basically I get to stick it to the man."
If by "sticking it to the man," he means delivering a concussive right hand squarely on Nogueira's jaw, Sylvia's stature as an elite heavyweight would then be cemented. Even when he was the reigning UFC champ on two separate occasions, he was always labeled more or less a phony champion due to the fact that both Nogueira and Fedor resided in the PRIDE ring.
On Saturday, however, inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center and in front of potentially millions of viewers the world over, Sylvia will have his chance to pummel at least one of the men always ranked above him.
Maybe then he'll finally get some respect.
Related Articles