- Tim Sylvia recently made his return and won his pro slap fighting debut in a lopsided match
- The ex-UFC champ knocked his opponent out in five rounds
After almost a decade, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia made an epic return not in MMA. Instead, the now 47-year-old decided to enter professional slap fighting and he did not fail to deliver in his debut.
A vicious KO
Some may not know, but Sylvia has embarked on a cornering job in slap fighting. But now, “The Maine-iac” seems all-in on pursuing a pro slap fighting career. Sylvia made his debut at the recent SlapFIGHT Championship 25 when he faced El Paso-based slap fighter, “The Bouncer.”
In his very first slap in Round 1, Sylvia already knocked The Bouncer down but was warned for violating the no stepping rule. The Bouncer was able to recover but his slap evidently did not hurt Sylvia, who was just laughed it off.
Both slap fighters exchanged slaps for a few more rounds while also violating some rules that cost them to lose a turn. However, Sylvia put an end to the match when he slapped the living lights out of The Bouncer in Round 5. Sylvia knocked The Bouncer down once again but this time, he did not manage to get back on his feet.
Sylvia was then declared the winner via KO to log a 1-0 pro record in slap fighting.
Watch the epic slapfighting match below:
An MMA pioneer
Sylvia began his pro MMA career in 2001 and made his UFC debut the following year at UFC 39 where he TKO’d Wesley Correira. In his second UFC fight, Sylvia KO’d Ricco Rodriguez to win the UFC heavyweight title for the first time. He lost the belt to Frank Mir at UFC 48 via submission. In 2006, Sylvia beat Andre Arlovski in their rematch to win the UFC heavyweight strap for the second time around.
Sylvia left the UFC in 2008 and went on to fight under several promotions, including ONE Championship and Affliction. He last fought professionally in 2013 when he lost to Ruslan Magomedov at Fight Nights. He was set for an MMA match in 2015 but was ruled out for being too fat to fight.
For many, Sylvia is considered one of the toughest fighters of his generation and a pioneer in the sport.
