Author: Alex Ballentine

Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia is desperate to fight for the UFC again. So desperate that he’s willing to be a competitor on the organization’s long-running reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter if it means earning himself another shot in the UFC.

In a recent interview with “The Hammerfisting Podcast“, Sylvia had this to say when posed with the question of his willingness to be on the show:

“Absolutely. I helped coach season two with Matt (Hughes) and Rich (Franklin) because it was half heavyweights and half 170 or 185-pounders. Matt being a 170-pounder and Rich being 185-pounds at that time and needing some help with the big boys, so, those are two of my best friends in the fighting industry. I went out there and stayed with those guys and helped them with their heavyweights and made some pretty good friends with that heavyweight division as well. But yeah, I watch The Ultimate Fighter and I would definitely do it if I needed to.”

Sylvia’s desperation is just another anecdote in his fall from champion to obscurity.

There was a time when Sylvia was as relevant a fighter as there was in the UFC. He has won the heavyweight championship twice, first in 2003 and again in 2006. In all, Sylvia defended his title three times, which makes him one of the more successful heavyweight champions in the history of the sport.

In 2008, after an unsuccessful attempt to become the interim heavyweight champion against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Sylvia requested a release from the UFC. The UFC obliged and Sylvia went on to lose to Fedor Emelianenko in under a minute before infamously losing to professional boxer Ray Mercer in nine seconds.

Sylvia has fought in relative obscurity ever since, but has quietly built some momentum as he has won six of his last seven fights on the regional scene. Now Sylvia feels like he is ready for another shot at the big time.

Dana White—perhaps the most important man Sylvia needs to impress—isn’t buying the notion of bringing Sylvia back anytime soon. In an interview with MMAJunkie.com White flatly said “no” when the idea of Sylvia’s return came up.

While White has every right to not welcome Sylvia back into the octagon, he should consider Sylvia’s willingness to appear on The Ultimate Fighter.

At first glance, the idea of a former champion earning his shot on a reality TV show that attempts to reward some of the best prospects in the sport with a spot on the UFC roster is a bit absurd. However, allowing Sylvia onto the show makes some sense.

Firstly, there’s the allure of having another season of TUF featuring heavyweights.

Heavyweights have been a good draw for the show before—Season 10 featured an all-heavyweight cast and was one of the most-watched seasons of the series. With the show’s debut season on FX receiving all-time lows in viewership, the UFC may want to go to the heavyweight well once more.

Season 10’s cast of UFC hopefuls was anchored by a fighter that had big-time name recognition in Kimbo Slice. While most ardent followers of MMA knew that Slice had no business in the UFC octagon, his presence attracted a huge portion of casual fans interested to see what Slice could do.

While Sylvia may not have the YouTube cache of Slice, he would be a marketable name to casual fans who may turn in to see what he has left.

Ultimately, Slyvia needs to be on the show because it’s a win-win situation for the UFC.

If Sylvia is on the show, one of two scenarios is sure to play out:

Situation No. 1: Sylvia wins his preliminary fight to earn his way into the TUF house and has a successful run on the show.

If Sylvia’s successful run on the show culminates with him holding the title of The Ultimate Fighter, then we have a legitimate Cinderella story, and that can’t be all bad for UFC brass.

The story of a former champion, humbled by losses and general irrelevancy, fighting his way through a tournament for redemption to return to the biggest stage sounds like a script for a movie. With the UFC hype machine behind it, there would be huge interest behind Sylvia.

If you don’t believe that Sylvia could be relevant again, consider the case of Mark Hunt.

Hunt signed with the UFC in 2010, and at 36 years old with a 5-6 record in MMA, most fans viewed the signing as a joke. Riding a five-fight losing streak and being a year-and-a-half off from fighting, Hunt’s career seemed all but over.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Hunt has since reeled off a 3-1 record in the UFC and has become a fan favorite. Hunt’s popularity even inspired a social media campaign that called for him to replace Alistair Overeem in a title match at UFC 146.

While Hunt’s campaign was unsuccessful, his resurgence and sudden popularity is one of the best stories in all of MMA this year.

An improbably run on TUF for Sylvia could provide a similar storyline.

Scenario No. 2: Sylvia embarrasses himself and is beaten handily at some point in the show.

This is the much more likely scenario—Sylvia was already knocked out by a former Ultimate Fighter contestant in Abe Wagner.

As long as Sylvia loses at some point throughout the show, then White has no incentive to give him an actual fight in the UFC and Sylvia can no longer beg for a chance to prove himself. White will have gotten rid of Sylvia for good while generating some good publicity for the show and the organization.

As an added benefit, a loss for Sylvia would bring legitimacy to the show’s cast. Even though Sylvia may be past his prime a win over a former champion is a great name for any prospect to have on his record.

If Sylvia were to be beaten it would show how far the heavyweight division has progressed over the last five years.

Either way Sylvia’s presence on TUF is a genius idea that would provide must-see TV.

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