Although surely aware his heyday had since passed, former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia still fully committed to taking his 42nd pro fight on Saturday at Reality Fighting at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
Instead, a surprise chain reaction that began just three days before Saturday’s scheduled fight with Juliano Coutinho persuaded Sylvia to announce his retirement from the sport.
According to a report from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, the Mohegan Department of Athletic Regulation (MDAR) didn’t discover that Sylvia was 40 years old until three days before his fight. Several websites, including Sherdog and Wikipedia, had Sylvia listed as 38.
In light of its discovery, and according to its policies for fighters 40 and older, the MDAR required Sylvia to undergo further testing—which included an MRI—in order to get licensed.
Sylvia’s MRI revealed an issue that prompted the MDAR to reject his application for a license, a decision that ultimately prompted the Iowa resident to retire from a career that began in early 2001.
Sylvia’s manager, Monte Cox, expanded on the findings of the MRI to Okamoto by saying, “He can go back and get another MRI in a year, but basically what they’re saying is there’s damage from blunt force trauma. He’s got damage there. Does it affect his everyday life? Not so far. Not that he can tell—but it’s certainly something to pay attention to.”
Sylvia hadn’t competed in the Octagon since getting choked (guillotine) by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in an interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 81 in early 2008.
Cox said Sylvia, who has suffered three TKO/KO losses since leaving the UFC, hadn’t underwent an MRI since 2005.
“The commission didn’t realize Tim was over 40 until three days before the event. There were some things on the MRI that weren’t on another MRI we had on file from 2003, meaning something happened over the course of the last 11 years. A neurologist said it could be something or it could be nothing.”
Sylvia dropped his last three bouts and hadn’t scored a win since TKO’ing journeyman Randy Smith at NEF Fight Night 3 in his home state of Maine in 2012. Since leaving the UFC, Sylvia was finished by Fedor Emelianenko (rear-naked choke), Ray Mercer (KO), Abe Wagner (TKO) and Tony Johnson (TKO).
Cox pointed out that it was more than just a concerning MRI that caused the resilient Sylvia to call it quits.
I think it’s the end. He had gotten to a point where his body, through all the wars, just wasn’t able to get in the kind of shape he used to. Obviously, you could see that in his weight. He just can’t get into competitive form. I think (retirement) is good. With this MRI, why go on, when you’re only getting paid a fraction of what you’re worth?
Sylvia won the heavyweight title in just his second fight with the promotion by KO’ing Ricco Rodriguez in the first round at UFC 41 in 2003. Sylvia finished with a 5-4 mark in UFC title fights and a 9-4 record in UFC competition.
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