Tim Sylvia

Born on March 5th, 1976 in the small town of Eastbrook, Maine,  Timothy Deane Sylvia was was aptly dubbed "The Maine-iac."

He started training in Karate as a young boy, and took up wrestling in high school. After graduation, Tim Sylvia tried his wares at boxing and grappling, and the future UFC heavyweight champion took first place in a grappling tournament after only a year of training.

Enjoying the victory, Tim jumped at the opportunity fight in a Rhode Island NHB amateur event. He only needed 17 seconds to render his first opponent unconscious.

It was at UFC 28 in Atlantic City, NJ in 2000 where Tim, in the arena as a fan, met Pat Miletich and his career truly began. Miletich, impressed with Silvia's massive frame, commented, "You are a big son of a bitch! Do you fight?"

Tim's response of not being able to find training partners or fights led to an invitation to train in Iowa with Team Miletitch. By the end of 2000 Silvia had sold everything he owned and was calling Iowa home.

It didn't take long for "The Maine-iac" to make his MMA pro debut in the IFC. 2001 saw him rack up 13 consecutive victories, 10 by knockout. Silvia was destroying opponents in events like Extreme Challenge and Super Brawl but found his first piece of national exposure when he defeated the iron jawed, heavy handed, Cabbage Correira at UFC 39.

Silvia followed his inaugural UFC victory with a dominant performance heavyweight victory over Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41. He only made one title defense before being stripped of the championship and handed a suspension by the Nevada Athletic Comission after failing a drug test. Silvia tested positive for the anabolic steroid, Stanozolol.

Frank Mir was the first opponent for Tim's return at UFC 48 in June 2004. They fought for the vacant UFC Heavyweight championship. Silvia lost via submission to an arm bar which forced him into a six month hiatus of recovery due to a broken arm that required an operation where a titanium plate had to be inserted into his forearm.

Tim and his bionic forearm returned with a victory over Wes Sims at SuperBrawl 38 but he then tapped out to new UFC champion, Andrei Arlovsky in just 47 seconds at UFC 51. A leg lock kept Silvia from regaining his crown.  He would have to bide his time with a handful of victories before receiving a rematch with "The Pitbull" Arlovsky. Silvia made it worth the wait and regained the crown with a knocout at At UFC 59.

Tim Silvia MMA Record

4/15/2006 Win Andrei Arlovski UFC 59 TKO (punches) Round 1, 2:43
1/16/2006 Win Assuerio Silva UFC-Ultimate Fight Night 3 Decision (Unanimous) Round 3, 5:00
8/20/2005 Win Tra Telligman UFC 54 KO (Kick) Round 1, 4:59
5/21/2005 Win Mike Block IFC-Caged Combat TKO Round 1, 1:26
2/5/2005 Loss Andrei Arlovski UFC 51 Submission (Achilles lock) Round 1, 0:47
12/12/2004 Win Wes Sims Superbrawl 38 TKO (Punches) Round 1, 1:32
6/19/2004 Loss Frank Mir UFC 48 Technical Submission (Injury) Round 1, 0:50
9/26/2003 Win Gan McGee UFC 44 TKO (Punches) Round 1, 1:54
2/28/2003 Win Ricco Rodriguez UFC 41 TKO (Strikes) Round 1, 3:09
9/27/2002 Win Wesley Correira UFC 39 TKO (Corner Stoppage) Round 2, 1:43
7/27/2002 Win Jeff Gerlick Extreme Challenge 48 TKO Round 1, 3:17
4/27/2002 Win Mike Whitehead Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 TKO (Strikes) Round 1, 2:38
4/27/2002 Win Jason Lambert Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 TKO (Strikes) Round 2, 4:13
4/27/2002 Win Boyd Ballard Superbrawl 24-ROTH 2 KO (Knee) Round 1, 3:21
4/26/2002 Win Mike Whitehead Superbrawl 24-ROTC 1 TKO Round 1, 3:46
3/16/2002 Win Matt Fremmbling Extreme Challenge 47 Decision Round 2, 5:00
3/16/2002 Win Gino De La Cruz Extreme Challenge 47 TKO Round 1, 0:43
2/16/2002 Win Ernest Henderson Extreme Challenge 46 TKO Round 1, 0:36
11/17/2001 Win Greg Wikan EC-Extreme Challenge Trials Submission (Choke) Round 3, 2:20
8/24/2001 Win Ben Rothwell Extreme Challenge 42 Decision Round 3, 5:00
6/2/2001 Win Greg Wikan UW-Ultimate Fight Minnesota TKO (Towel) Round 1, 5:00
4/7/2001 Win Gabe Beauperthy GC 3-Showdown at Soboba Submission (Choke) Round 2, 4:16
1/19/2001 Win Randy Durant IFC-Battleground 2001 TKO Round 1, 2:05

Ray Mardo is a former freestyle wrestler. The Austin Film Festival honored writer now spends his days as the webmaster of several websites about ultimate fighting championship and mixed martial arts, extreme championship wrestling, world championship wrestling, who is the coolest guy on the planet, and DJ training.

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