Born March 5, 1976, Timothy Deane Sylvia is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) professional fighter. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion in the heavyweight division. Training in the Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) camp, he is a part of their MFS Elite group. He currently fights for Adrenaline MMS (formerly known as M-1 Global). Notable wins that Sylvia holds include fights against Wesley Correira, Jason Lambert, Gan McGee, Ricco Rodriguez, Ben Rothwell, Assuerio Silva, Wes Sims, Tra Telligman, and Mike Whitehead.

Background

As a child, Sylvia became a member of a karate school and he was on the wrestling team during his high school years. After graduating, Sylvia worked many different jobs, including community gardening, construction, hanging sheet rock, and painting houses. He also spent time as a bouncer for Shane Reids bar. Later, while playing semi-professional football, he took an interest in MMA. He began to train with Marcus Davis and decided to take up boxing and grappling. Sylvia entered his first grappling contest after training for a full year. He won first place in his division. Not long after this competition, he was able to fight in a no-holds-barred amateur event in Rhode Island. Here he knocked out his first opponent in just 17 seconds.

Sylvia had been a fan of UFC for many years. In 2000, he and a few friends attended UFC 28 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They arrived early and, after going into the arena, saw Pat Miletich, who was a former UFC champion and MMA trainer. Miletich said to Sylvia, “You are a big son of a bitch! Do you fight?” Sylvia answered, “A little, but I have a hard time finding training partners and getting fights.” “Come to Iowa,” Miletich said simply. So in late 2000, Sylvia sold all his possessions and relocated to Bettendorf, Iowa to train with Team Miletich.

Early Years with MMA

Sylvia’s professional debut with MMA was in 2001 fighting for the IFC. He garnered thirteen wins in a row with ten knockouts in SuperBrawl and Extreme Challenge, among other organizations. Just one year later, Sylvia signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and quickly won a technical knockout victory against Wesley “Cabbage” Correira at UFC 39 when Correira’s team threw in the towel. Sylvia later won his first UFC heavyweight championship when he defeated Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41. He then defended his title against Gan McGee at UFC 44 and won a swift victory.

Controversy Around Sylvia

After retaining his title by defeating McGee, Sylvia took a drug test which detected the banned substance Stanozolol (an anabolic steroid). The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) fined him $10,000, stripped him of his championship title, and suspended him for six months. He later said that the steroid use was actually for weight loss. He apologized and did not try to proclaim innocence.

Injury

In June 2004, Sylvia fought Frank Mir at UFC 48 for the open title of UFC heavyweight champion. He lost. Early in the match, Mir caught Sylvia’s right arm in an armbar submission attempt. Sylvia tried to break out of the hold, and Mir tightened his grip. Sylvia’s radius bone broke three inches below his elbow. Herb Dean, the referee, called a halt to the fight and stated that Sylvia was unable to continue. Sylvia, however, protested this decision and claimed again and again that his arm was not broken. He even touched and moved his arm, trying to show that it was fine. In reality, the break could be plainly seen on a slow-motion replay of the incident.

UFC president Dana White and NSAC officials concurred with the doctor’s advice as to Sylvia’s condition. They ended the fight and Mir was awarded the title. At a local hospital, an x-ray showed that Sylvia’s arm was undeniably broken. Part of the treatment included having a titanium plate bonded to his forearm. Sylvia recuperated for several months before returning to the fighting arena. Sometime later, he admitted that he was relieved the referee had stopped the fight and, by doing so, prevented any further damage to his arm.

Returning to the UFC

Sylvia returned to the UFC venue in February 2005, a full six months after the infamous fight with Frank Mir. This time he fought Andrei Arlovski for the title of interim UFC heavyweight champ. (Mir, who was still nominal UFC champion, had been injured in a motorcycle accident and was unable to defend the title at that time.) With an overhand right punch, Arlovski knocked Sylvia down and then grabbed him with an achilles lock. Sylvia, fearing another major injury, bailed out.

Three months later, in May 2005, Sylvia went up against Mike Block in the IFC. This time he won by TKO. He then fought Tra Telligman, an MMA veteran, at UFC 54–an exciting match, to say the least. In the first round, with only one second left, Sylvia knocked Telligman out with a left head kick. Shortly after this match, Sylvia appeared on cable television for the first tie. On Ultimate Fight Night 3, which aired on Spike TV, he fought Assuerio Silva in a match to decide the next number one contender. After three rounds, he won in a unanimous decision.

Sylvia Reclaims the Title

Finally, at UFC 59, Sylvia got his rematch with then-champion Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski knocked Sylvia down, but Sylvia stood right back up. Almost immediately, Sylvia landed an uppercut that sent Arlovski to the ground. Sylvia followed this with a ground and pound and earned a TKO victory. Once more, he became the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

Not long after, Sylvia requested another rematch with Arlovski. His request was granted, and the fight transpired at UFC 61. By unanimous decision, Sylvia remained heavyweight champ.

Sylvia’s next fight was against Jeff Monson at UFC 65. This fight was touted as a “striker versus grappler” match. Again Sylvia won by unanimous decision. Sylvia’s development as a mixed martial artist was put on display as he escaped danger from Monson when on the ground and tried to execute a triangle choke submission. Unfortunately, this fight received a negative response from fans and critics, who said that the two fighters were “staring at each other with no action at all” for most of the match. They also claimed that the fight “was just there to make Sylvia look good.”

Randy Couture took the UFC heavyweight championship title away from Sylvia on March 3, 2007. The judges scored the match 50-45. It marked Couture’s fifth UFC title.

Several months later, Sylvia fought and defeated Brandon Vera at UFC 77 on October 20, 2007. After the fight, Sylvia challenged Cheick Kongo to a match for the number one contender spot for the title of heavyweight champion.

On February 2, 2008, Sylvia went up against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC 81. Nogueira caught him in a guillotine choke and won the interim heavyweight champion title away from Sylvia. This was Sylvia’s last fight before leaving the UFC.

Adrenaline and Affliction

Sylvia signed with Adrenaline MMA (formerly M-1 Global) on March 28, 2008. He signed a two-year contract which gives him freedom to also fight for other organizations. Just a short time later, he was given the opportunity to fight Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Banned, which is Affliction Clothing’s inaugural event. The winner of this fight would take the new WAMMA Heavyweight Championship title.

Sylvia lost to Fedor, who dropped him with a combination of punches, took his back, and executed the rear naked choke after only 36 seconds in the first round.