Sylvia (photo) was a UFC fighter between 2002 and 2008.Photo: Disclosure/UFC
After Andrei Arlovski, which recently returned to UFC after six years, another veteran wants to fight inside the Octagon again. Also former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia started a campaign for Facebook to return to the biggest MMA organization on the planet.
The idea came about after the UFC announced that it would hold an event in the US state of Maine, on August 16th. Sylvia, born in Maine (hence her nickname, “The Maine-iac”), quickly started a campaign to participate in the event, even suggesting that he would fight “almost for free”.
“Please contact the UFC staff via social media. Dana White [UFC president], Joe Silva, Sean Shelby [matchmakers UFC], Lorenzo Fertitta [UFC partner], let's make them understand that people want to see the Maine-iac original on card. I want to fight for my fans, friends and family in one of my hometowns. It’s the perfect combination”, wrote the fighter.
“Yes, getting paid is a bonus, but it's in my hometown. It's a dream to fight in my hometown, and I would do it practically for free. I don't have many fights left in my career and I would be able to kill to finish in my hometown for my countrymen Maine-iacs”, concluded the veteran.
Sylvia, 38 years old, was UFC heavyweight champion on more than one occasion. In the first of them, he won the title by knocking out Ricco Rodriguez, but was dethroned when he was caught in a drug test after his first defense, against Gan McGee. Afterwards, he tried to regain the belt on two occasions, but lost to Frank mir and para Andrei Arlovski (against the latter for the vacant belt, after Mir suffered a serious motorcycle accident and abandoned the title).
O Maine-iac He regained the belt in 2006, after beating Arlovski by knockout in a comeback fight. The following year, he was defeated again, this time by Randy Couture. His last attempt at a UFC belt was in 2008, when he faced Rodrigo Minotauro for the interim title, after Couture left Ultimate. After two rounds of dominance, Sylvia fell victim to the Brazilian's dangerous ground game, who managed a submission with a guillotine choke.
This was Sylvia's last participation in the UFC to date. Since then, the North American has had some notable fights, such as the fights against Fedor Emelianenko and former boxer Ray Mercer, as well as a fourth confrontation with Arlovski. In her last three fights, Sylvia suffered three defeats, to Satoshi Ishii, Tony Johnson and Ruslan Magomedov.
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