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Interview w/UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tim Sylvia
Reported By: Chris Colderley - 08.05.2003 02:02 AM
Part I: Interview with UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tim Sylvia
Reported By: Chris Colderley -
He’s a Maine – iac for sure!
Boxing Insider Talks with UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tim Sylvia
By Chris Colderley ©
Before Tim Sylvia made his debut in UFC 39 against Wesley Correira, he was working as a welder by day and a club dancer by night . . . No, No, No! That’s, Jennifer Beales, the other Maniac.
Actually, Sylvia was amassing an impressive string of victories in MMA events across North America, like the International Fighting Championship, Gladiator Challenge, Ultimate Wrestling, Extreme Challenge, and Superbrawl.
His UFC debut against Wesley Correira was supposed to be the final of the Super Brawl 24 Heavyweight Tournament. Unfortunately, Coreirra injured his hand in the semi final and could not continue. When the two finally met in the UFC, Sylvia used his strong takedown defense along with his accurate and precise punching to beat down the very plucky Hawaiian. In fact, Sylvia was so dominant that many fans mistook Correira for can of tomatoes.
That same night, Ricco Rodriguez claimed the heavyweight title over Randy Couture after an elbow shattered Couture’s eye socket. When the time came to find a challenger for newly crowned champion, Ricco Rodriguez, Sylvia was in the right place at the right time. Of the other possible contenders: Gan McGee had a new three fight deal and wanted more money for a championship match; Pedro Rizzo had just lost to McGee; and Ian Freeman had just lost to Andrei Arvloski, who had already lost to Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 32. In spite of Sylvia’s record of 16 wins and 9 straight knockouts, Rodriguez was an overwhelming 5-to-1 pre-fight favorite.
After thwarting several early takedown attempts and defying Rodriguez’s adept ground game for three short minutes, Sylvia countered a leg kick with a straight right-hand, sending the champion sprawling back onto the mat. Before Rodriguez recovered, Sylvia planted two more rights on the downed champion provoking John McCarthy to stop the action at 3 minutes and 9 seconds of the first round.
Speaking at the post fight press conference, Sylvia recounted in his East coast accent: “When I hit him, I knew I hit him ha-a-a-a-rd. When he went down, I just had to make sure I capitalized and knocked his ass out.” Knock his ass out, indeed!
Photo: Joshua Hedges/UFC.tv
Now, Tim Sylvia is set to make his first defense of the title. But two things are different from his last appearance in the octagon. He is the pre-fight favorite at -144. Second, he is facing a bigger opponent, which rarely happens when you are 6’8” and 260 pounds.
In this two-part interview with Boxing Insider, Tim Sylvia talks about training for his upcoming Championship fight, gives his thoughts on the UFC invasion of Pride, and talks about Miletich Fighting Systems.
BoxingInsider.com: First of all Tim, how are you doing?
Tim Sylvia: I am doing well; really well.
BoxingInsider.com: You are training for the fight with Gan McGee on September 26th, what was today like for you?
Tim Sylvia: Let’s see. Today is Thursday. I started off with lifting at 10:00 for about an hour. Then I went downstairs and I did some position grappling. I did some endurance stuff for about an hour and a half. I just got done and I am getting ready to go back up for a couple hours more.
BoxingInsider.com: What’s your schedule like in terms of your training? When are you going to start slowing down?
Tim Sylvia: When I leave for the UFC.
BoxingInsider.com: Which will be about a week before?
Tim Sylvia: Yes, about four or five days.
BoxingInsider.com: In terms of your opponent, Gan McGee, how are you preparing to fight him?
Photo: Joshua Hedges/UFC.tv
Tim Sylvia: Gan? He’s a little bigger than me, actually. I am working on using my reach to my advantage, and of course I have been bringing in some taller guys. I am working out with some 6’ 6’ and 6’8’’ guys, which I am sparring with, trying to get a feel of fighting with a guy a little bit taller than me. I am 6’ 8” myself, but I really haven’t sparred with anybody my height. I am working on that, and of course working on defending the takedown. He’s a great wrestler, and I get the idea that after a stand-up exchange, he will probably try to take me down.
BoxingInsider.com: Ironically enough, most people who have only seen him fight in the UFC think he’s a striker, but he’s more adept on the ground.
Tim Sylvia: Oh Yeah! It’s just that he’s always been bigger than everybody else so he stands up and trades with because it’s to his advantage.
BoxingInsider.com: Your teammate, Matt Hughes once said that you’re not the champion until you defend the title.
Tim Sylvia: This is true.
BoxingInsider.com: How do you feel about that statement going into the fight?
Tim Sylvia: I just have to make sure that I defend the title so I can be a real champion.
BoxingInsider.com: As far as you are concerned the championship is vacant, but you will carry it into the ring?
Tim Sylvia: Well, no! I did knock out Ricco Rodriguez for it. Obviously, I hold the belt, but it just means more to us [Team Miletich] if we defend. That way it’s not a fluke – that I won the title from Ricco. I was born to be a champion, and I want to make sure it stays that way.
BoxingInsider.com: You mentioned the Ricco Rodriguez fight. A lot of people were surprised that you won that fight. Since then you really haven’t received the respect you deserve. Do you have a lot to prove in this fight: more than just you are a good fighter, but that you deserve to be called the UFC champion?
Tim Sylvia: No. I really don’t care about the stuff, Chris. I treat every fight as a fight. I go in there – and I got into this business – because I enjoy fighting and I like the competition. Winning the belt was just an added bonus. After a while people are going to respect me because they will realize I am a good fighter. If they don’t, it’s no big deal to me really.
BoxingInsider.com: Ricco Rodriguez is off to Pride and he’s fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on August 10th. You were almost signed to fight in Pride against Bob Sapp, I believe. Will that fight ever happen?
Tim Sylvia: Bob Sapp and I? No idea. There are talks of a Pride Grand Prix heavyweight tournament after the middleweight one. I don’t know when it’s going to come along, but if it does, I hope the UFC gives me the opportunity to go over there and prove myself and to prove to everybody else that I am one of the best heavyweights in the world. Hopefully, I can compete in that. I am sure that Bob Sapp would be one of the guys competing in that as well.
BoxingInsider.com: Of course, Bob Sapp couldn’t compete in the UFC, at least not in the heavyweight division.
Let me ask you a little about the Grand Prix. I know you follow the sport closely and have a lot of respect for the fighters. For the middleweight tournament, who is your favorite going into it?
Tim Sylvia: Who do I want to win? I want Chuck Liddell to win, of course! It’s a hell of a [field] . . . They have some tough, tough guys. Quinton [Jackson] has been on a hell of a rampage. How ironic that’s his nickname: “Rampage.” [Laughs] He’s been tearing people up. I was very impressed with his win over Randleman. [Kevin] Randleman is a hell of a wrestler and he had no problem with that. You never ever count out Vanderlei [Silva]. He’s a bad dude. I can’t wait to see it.
BoxingInsider.com: What about [Ricco] Rodriguez against [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira?
Tim Sylvia: Ricco beat Nogueira in Abu Dhabi, but as we all know, Ricco doesn’t like to get hit and Nogueira has okay stand-up skills. It will be interesting. I really don’t know who is going to win.
I think the submission skills are about the same. Maybe Nogueira is a little better, but I think Ricco is a better wrestler. That comes to taking people down and being in dominant positions. The fight could go either way. It’s going to be a great card. I am really looking forward to it. I am a huge fight fan.
BoxingInsider.com: Almost as good as the UFC card in September?
Tim Sylvia: Of course!
Read part two of boxinginsider.coms interview with UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia later this week.
Chris Colderley is a boxinginsider.com contributor and can be contacted at Colderley@hotmail.com.
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