Teixeira’s manager Ed Soares told MMAFighting.com today that Teixeira “tweaked a knee injury that he suffered in his October fight against Phil Davis and now requires six weeks of physical therapy.” The UFC is working on a new fight for Evans, although the date of that fight is yet unknown.
In the meantime, the UFC has decided to pull the Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva fight that was scheduled for UFC 184 on February 28th, and set it as the new main event of UFC Fight Night 61 six days earlier. UFC Fight Night 61 will still be co-headlined by Edson Barboza vs. Michael Johnson, but the way the UFC injury bug has been knocking off main events and co-mains lately, nothing in this life is guaranteed. The current UFC Fight Night 61 lineup is…
Teixeira’s manager Ed Soares told MMAFighting.com today that Teixeira “tweaked a knee injury that he suffered in his October fight against Phil Davis and now requires six weeks of physical therapy.” The UFC is working on a new fight for Evans, although the date of that fight is yet unknown.
In the meantime, the UFC has decided to pull the Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva fight that was scheduled for UFC 184 on February 28th, and set it as the new main event of UFC Fight Night 61 six days earlier. UFC Fight Night 61 will still be co-headlined by Edson Barboza vs. Michael Johnson, but the way the UFC injury bug has been knocking off main events and co-mains lately, nothing in this life is guaranteed. The current UFC Fight Night 61 lineup is…
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva
Edson Barboza vs. Michael Johnson
Ivan Jorge vs. Josh Shockley
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Sean Strickland
Wendell Oliveira vs. T.J. Waldburger
Rustam Khabilov vs. Adriano Martins
Sam Alvey vs. Cezar Ferreira
Iuri Alcantara vs. Frankie Saenz
Matt Dwyer vs. William Macario
Jessica Andrade vs. Marion Reneau
Cody Gibson vs. Douglas Silva
(“Half the game is 90% mental” — Timothy Deane Sylvia)
Over the weekend, we received the disheartening news that former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia had decided to retire from MMA after showing up at a whopping 371 pounds and being declared medically unfit to compete in his scheduled super-heavyweight contest at Reality Fighting 53. It was the latest in a series of depressing setbacks for the former champion, who its hard to believe was angling for another shot in the UFC as recently as last year.
And we know what you’re thinking, “You’re just setting this all up so you can rip on Sylvia’s weight for 1000 words.” And to be honest, we considered it. But rather than kick a man while he’s down, we’re going to play it straight with this: A tribute to the most memorable performances (for better or for worse) from one of the UFC’s most memorable heavyweight champions.
He is Fatty Boom-Boom “The Maine-iac”, hear him roar.
Sylvia vs. Cabbage Correia
Heading into his UFC debut at UFC 39: The Warriors Return, Sylvia was riding a ridiculous 13 fight win streak that included victories over future UFC alums Jason Lambert, Ben Rothwell, and Mike Whitehead. Paired against the similarly debuting Cabbage Correira, Sylvia brought a near perfect gameplan with him, blistering his iron-jawed foe with stiff jabs and uppercuts from the clinch until Cabbage’s corner was forced to throw in the towel early in the second round. It was such a dominant win that Sylvia was immediately given a title shot against the OG coke-snorting champion, Ricco Rodriguez.
(“Half the game is 90% mental” — Timothy Deane Sylvia)
Over the weekend, we received the disheartening news that former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia had decided to retire from MMA after showing up at a whopping 371 pounds and being declared medically unfit to compete in his scheduled super-heavyweight contest at Reality Fighting 53. It was the latest in a series of depressing setbacks for the former champion, who its hard to believe was angling for another shot in the UFC as recently as last year.
And we know what you’re thinking, “You’re just setting this all up so you can rip on Sylvia’s weight for 1000 words.” And to be honest, we considered it. But rather than kick a man while he’s down, we’re going to play it straight with this: A tribute to the most memorable performances (for better or for worse) from one of the UFC’s most memorable heavyweight champions.
He is Fatty Boom-Boom ”The Maine-iac”, hear him roar.
Sylvia vs. Cabbage Correia
Heading into his UFC debut at UFC 39: The Warriors Return, Sylvia was riding a ridiculous 13 fight win streak that included victories over future UFC alums Jason Lambert, Ben Rothwell, and Mike Whitehead. Paired against the similarly debuting Cabbage Correira, Sylvia brought a near perfect gameplan with him, blistering his iron-jawed foe with stiff jabs and uppercuts from the clinch until Cabbage’s corner was forced to throw in the towel early in the second round. It was such a dominant win that Sylvia was immediately given a title shot against the OG coke-snorting champion, Ricco Rodriguez.
Sylvia vs. Ricco Rodriguez
(Check out Sylvia vs. Rodriguez in its entirety here.)
Although it was only his first title defense, Ricco Rodriguez would have already been given G.O.A.T status heading into his UFC 41 fight against Sylvia had he been fighting in today’s UFC. His five previous appearances had all resulted in stoppage wins over seasoned veterans like Jeff Monson and Pete Williams, and he had captured the belt by elbowing Randy Couture into submission (!!) at the very event where Sylvia made his debut.
But against Sylvia, Rodriguez looked like little more than a punching bag with finely-defined sideburns. Unable to get inside Sylvia’s long arms and mount the smallest semblance of offense (save an armbar attempt early in the fight), Rodriguez was simply biding his time.
“Rico’s dangerously backing up and not covering up,” noted Ken Shamrock from cageside. “He’s allowing [Sylvia’s] right hand to get through.”
It was an ominous moment for Rodriguez, who would be dropped and finished by Sylvia less than 30 seconds later. In the blink of an eye, Tim Sylvia had scored the upset of a lifetime and become the ultimate boss in a promotion filled with Tyson Punch Out-level bosses.
Sylvia vs. Frank Mir
Hard times would befall Sylvia following his title win over Rodriguez. In his first defense, Sylvia would defeat fellow giant Gan McGee via first round TKO, only to test positive for Stanozolol in his post-fight drug test and be stripped of his title thereafter.
Sylvia returned to the octagon some nine months later with the hopes of reclaiming the title he had lost. The only thing standing in his way: Frank Mir. Less than a minute into their fight, Sylvia would find himself caught in the beartrap that is Mir’s guard and on the receiving end of an armbar so brutal that it nearly gave Herb Dean a heart attack. With a sickening pop, Mir broke Sylvia’s forearm in half, but Sylvia — the stubborn sumbitch — refused to believe it, even waving his arm around in an act of futile demonstration.
While reflecting on the “disappointing” end to his career in a recent interview with MMAFighting, Sylvia stated that a rematch with Mir “was the one left I would have liked to have done.” For what it’s worth, I’d be interested in seeing that fight…but only if it was held in Japan under Super Hluk rules.
Sylvia vs. Tra Telligman
Heartbreak would follow heartbreak for Sylvia, who would once again return from a lengthy layoff to suffer a quick defeat to future rival Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51. His heavyweight title (or at least, the interim title) having once again escaped him, Sylvia was matched against journeyman Tra Telligman at UFC 54. In what would be Telligman’s final MMA fight, Sylvia would DESTROY the Lion’s Den fighter with a head kick in the closing seconds of the first round. It was a highlight reel KO that would earn Sylvia a spot on UFC Ultimate Knockouts compilations for years to come.
On the next page: Sylvia recaptures gold in one of the greatest comebacks of all time (seriously), then suffers a reverse of fate against a PRIDE legend…
(Tim Sylvia, in his bantamweight debut. / Photo via Getty)
UFC 182 was certainly the talk of the town this weekend, yet we couldn’t help but notice a former UFC Heavyweight Champion call it a day after going on an Arby’s world tour to train for his most recent bout.
According to The Underground, Maine’s own Tim Sylvia retired yesterday, shortly after his super-heavyweight fight against Juliano “Banana” Coutinho at Reality Fighting 53 was cancelled. Sylvia, who was planning on entering the battlefield at a whopping 371 pounds, was not cleared to fight by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT., and thank the good Lord for that.
However, manager Monte Cox confirmed on Facebook there was a problem with his pre-fight MRI, and the bout was cancelled due to other issues apart from his weight. Nevertheless, the face-off picture of a bloated Timmeh surfaced on social media and MMA sites around the world, and that was enough for its experts to stare at it without blinking for the whole duration of the UFC 182 main card (except for the main event, of course).
(Tim Sylvia, in his bantamweight debut. / Photo via Getty)
UFC 182 was certainly the talk of the town this weekend, yet we couldn’t help but notice a former UFC Heavyweight Champion call it a day after going on an Arby’s world tour to train for his most recent bout.
According to The Underground, Maine’s own Tim Sylvia retired yesterday, shortly after his super-heavyweight fight against Juliano “Banana” Coutinho at Reality Fighting 53 was cancelled. Sylvia, who was planning on entering the battlefield at a whopping 371 pounds, was not cleared to fight by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT., and thank the good Lord for that.
However, manager Monte Cox confirmed on Facebook there was a problem with his pre-fight MRI, and the bout was cancelled due to other issues apart from his weight. Nevertheless, the face-off picture of a bloated Timmeh surfaced on social media and MMA sites around the world, and that was enough for its experts to stare at it without blinking for the whole duration of the UFC 182 main card (except for the main event, of course).
On the tail end of a three-fight losing streak, last night would have been the 42nd time Sylvia competed in a professional MMA contest. As one of the proud Miletech boys fighting out of Bettendorf, IA., Sylvia made his debut at UFC 39, earning a TKO stoppage over Wesley “Cabbage” Correira. He would go on to win the heavyweight strap in his next fight, knocking out Ricco Rodriguez in one round at UFC 41. However, a failed post-fight drug test saw him stripped of the title after his win over Gan McGee at UFC 44.
After his arm was snapped like a wishbone courtesy of Frank Mir at UFC 48 for the vacant heavyweight title, Sylvia would lose to arch rival Andrei Arlovski shortly after, being his second unsuccessful attempt at claiming back his gold. After winning three fights in a row, “The Maine-iac” bested “The Pit Bull” to win back his title at UFC 59, and went up 2-1 in their rubber match at UFC 61. Considering their heavyweight trilogy was part of the UFC’s dark days, most fans will remember Sylvia’s title reign for the amount of times he showed up to the arena as a spectator with the belt around his waist, not to mention walking into restaurants with it on as he accompanied Matt Hughes to umpteen dosages of fried foods on UFC All Access.
Sylvia would eventually lose the belt to Randy Couture at UFC 68, and despite numerous title fights in the UFC, his loss against Pride champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would be his last one, and ultimately, his final fight inside the Octagon.
Hell, he even tried to get back into the UFC not long ago, but it wasn’t going to happen as long as UFC head honcho Dana White was pulling the strings, even though he’s still tied for most successful heavyweight title defenses.
We bid you adieu, Mr. Sylvia … but for God’s sake, lose some weight.
In a previous, less saturated era of the UFC, this fight would likely be considered one of the “do-or-die” nature for both guys, who have been struggling as of late to put it lightly. Since breaking Big Nog’s arm back in December of 2011, Mir has fallen on a rather tough-to-watch 0-4 skid, which has included TKO losses to Junior Dos Santos and Josh Barnett and decision losses to Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem. Despite this, the former champion is somehow still ranked #13, which should really tell you something about the depth of the heavyweight division right now.
In a previous, less saturated era of the UFC, this fight would likely be considered one of the “do-or-die” nature for both guys, who have been struggling as of late to put it lightly. Since breaking Big Nog’s arm back in December of 2011, Mir has fallen on a rather tough-to-watch 0-4 skid, which has included TKO losses to Junior Dos Santos and Josh Barnett and decision losses to Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem. Despite this, the former champion is somehow still ranked #13, which should really tell you something about the depth of the heavyweight division right now.
In other fight booking news, bantamweight bridesmaids Miesha Tate and Sara McMann have agreed to face one another at UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st in Las Vegas. Tate was most recently able to improve her UFC record to an even .500 via a unanimous decision victory over Rin Nakai at Fight Night Japan, whereas McMann is fresh off a split decision win over promotional newcomer Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 47.
While the fighter formerly known as “Takedown” Tate has been rallying to get an opponent that will stand and trade with her in recent weeks (specifically, Bethe Correia), it looks like she’ll have to settle with another “lay-n-prayer” in McMann. Not that *I* think the Olympic silver medalist is a “lay-n-prayer,” it’s just that I’ve read such things in comments sections across the MMA blogosphere, which we all know is where the real experts are found.
Random note: At the time being, the co-main event of UFC 183 is being listed as Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz. The fuck is that shit?
UFC 184 on February 28, 2015, continues to get better and better.
On Wednesday evening, the UFC announced the addition of a top-15 heavyweight battle between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-6-1) and Frank Mir (16-9).
Eighth-ranked Silva will be coming off…
UFC 184 on February 28, 2015, continues to get better and better.
On Wednesday evening, the UFC announced the addition of a top-15 heavyweight battle between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-6-1) and Frank Mir (16-9).
Eighth-ranked Silva will be coming off a knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski, and he is winless in his last three outings. His last victory came in February 2013 against Alistair Overeem.
Mir, ranked No. 13, has not fared any better. His last win came in 2011 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140 and has dropped his last four fights inside the Octagon.
Both heavyweights will have their backs against the wall in this fight and could potentially be fighting for their UFC careers given recent results. The desperation could lead to an exciting heavyweight tilt with a big finish.
Mir has finished 12 of his 16 victories, and Silva has finished 16 of his 18 wins. A decision is not likely in this fight.
The two veterans of the sport will be looking for one more run up the heavyweight ladder. Their hopes will hinge on a win at UFC 184 at the Staples Center.
UFC 184 is headlined by two title bouts. In the main event, Chris Weidman defends his middleweight crown against VitorBelfort. In the co-main event, Ronda Rousey defends the women’s bantamweight title against top-ranked Cat Zingano.
Bleacher Report will continue to keep you up to date on any and all additions to the UFC 184 fight card.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, just like any other major sports promotion, is susceptible to injury-plagued moments. Just like a team in the NFL or NBA can have its season hopes ruined by one misstep, an entire MMA event can be blown up due to one…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, just like any other major sports promotion, is susceptible to injury-plagued moments. Just like a team in the NFL or NBA can have its season hopes ruined by one misstep, an entire MMA event can be blown up due to one painful moment.
Mixed martial arts is a violent sport—a sport in which the athletes must train hard in order to be ready for high-level competition. Unfortunately, the UFC cannot do more than it is to protect its champions from sudden injury. Yet, it can do more to protect its cards from falling apart when it occurs.
Injuries within mixed martial arts are going to happen. When they do, the results are going to be catastrophic at times and “minor” in others. The moments that have struck UFC 177 and UFC 178 will ring out as two examples etched in the fight community’s mind.
If the UFC expects these fighters to come in and compete as world-class athletes, then hard training is a must. This hard training will lead to accidental injuries that will keep big-name athletes from upcoming events. The UFC can respond by having a match-making system in place that would help prevent cards from being drastically weakened if major players are forced to back out.
As the UFC moves forward with having all pay-per-view events headlined by title fights, the undercard should also feature title contenders from the same weight class. What this strategy would do is allow the UFC to shift its cards around in the moment of an injury or other change. UFC 158 can be pointed to as an example of how this card structure would work.
Georges St-Pierre was set to defend his title against Nick Diaz, who had been pulled from a previous title shot at UFC 137 due to missing media requirements (via MMA Fighting). If the UFC was forced to do so again, it could have filled his spot with either Johny Hendricks or Carlos Condit, who were in the co-main event. The UFC also booked Jake Ellenberger against Nate Marquardt, both of whom could have stepped in to face other men if needed and would have kept the welterweight division moving forward that night.
Keeping key fighters active within the same time span or on the same cards would help stop injuries from ruining event expectations. This would ensure that specific fighters are training in preparation for the moment in which their number is called.
UFC 146 is another example of a card that was shaken up due to a fighter being taken off the card. When Alistair Overeem was removed because he failed his pre-fight drug test, all of the heavyweight bouts were moved around (via MMAjunkie). Frank Mir was originally supposed to face Cain Velasquez, but instead he was bumped into the main event spot against Junior dos Santos.
Ben Fowlkes of MMA Fighting reported that Mir volunteered his services once it was official that Overeem was pulled from the card. He volunteered to do so at the right moment, and the fact that he was preparing to compete already could have helped the UFC select him to take the spot. Had the company not had any other heavyweight bouts in place, the promotion would have had a much harder time finding a replacement.
Injuries are going to happen in mixed martial arts no matter what the UFC or any other promotion tries to do. However, creating a card development system that books multiple contenders on the same event will help ease the pain of replacements when needed. The UFC will never be able to prevent injuries, but being prepared to face them is its next best option.
