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Former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia won big in his Slap Fight debut over the weekend at SlapFight Championship 25 in Oklahoma. “The Maine-iac,” now 47 and nearly a decade removed from professional competition, dropped his opponent twice to become the new SlapFight Championship heavyweight champion.
Tim Sylvia defeats ‘The Bouncer’ by KO
Sylvia was announced to have weighed 375 lbs, and was matched up against a man who simply went by the name “The Bouncer.” Sylvia dropped the unnamed opponent in the opening round. Refusing to be taken out early, The Bouncer stood back up and soldiered on.
A few more exchanges and penalty warnings later, Sylvia finished the match in round five when he dropped the Bouncer once again. The latter wasn’t getting up this time, as UFC Hall-of-Famer Mark Coleman, who served as a “catcher” for falling bodies, waved the fight off.
Here is the video of the entire match.
What’s in store for Tim Sylvia’s future?
At least based on his social media post after his Slap Fight win, Tim Sylvia seems to be eager to carry on with this new venture. But it is worth noting that Sylvia was forced into retirement from MMA competition in 2015 after an issue with his pre-fight MRI scan surfaced.
Upon his signing with Slap Fight in March, a few of his peers voiced out their concerns. Sylvia, however, attests that he is in great health.
“Ben thx for your concern,” he wrote to fellow UFC veteran Ben Rothwell in response. “Like i said there is nothing wrong with my brain. I am willing to bet our mri would look the same. As you know Mohegan Sun is the worth (sic) athletic commission on the planet.”
As for his questioned MRI scan, here’s what Sylvia said in another tweet:
“(Taken) out of context, the mri wasn’t clear and couldn’t be read, so i had to take another one. What they did see was what they thought was trauma from 16 years in a contact sport. Mine looks just like any other fighter competing that long.”
Tim Sylvia’s fighting career
Sylvia’s professional career began in 2001. He went on a 16-fight undefeated streak for the next two years and won the UFC heavyweight title in the process before losing it to a failed drug test. Sylvia fought for a few more years in the UFC, facing the likes of Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovksi, Brandon Vera, and Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira.
Outside the UFC, he fought the great Fedor Emelianenko in Affliction before signing with other organizations like ONE Championship. Tim Sylvia last saw action in 2013 in a super heavyweight bout in Moscow against banned UFC veteran Ruslan Magomedov and lost via decision. His record stands at 31-10 (with 1 NC).
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