Once a staple of the UFC heavyweight division, two-time champion Tim Sylvia now makes his living outside the promotion he called home for years.
Sherdog.com: How have you spent your off time since losing to Fedor?
Sylvia: I’ve been doing a lot of hunting and just training … been doing a lot of hunting. After my fight with Fedor, I went to Canada and did some bear hunting.
Sherdog.com: What did your loss to Fedor teach you?
Sylvia: I just know that I’m better than that. I just didn’t get a chance to get off. [I was] just kind of overconfident that I would impose my will, and he got off first and took me out of my game plan real quick.
Sherdog.com: With the International Fight League and EliteXC going out of business, do you feel any instability being with a new promotion like Affliction?
Sylvia: I just like to fight. I got into this ’cause I love fighting. I mean, if there was some ungodly reason that we didn’t get paid, I’d probably still be doing this. I’d just be working full time and still fighting. I love to fight. It’s fun. It’s the reward for training and stuff like that, so I want to get back on track and get some wins under my belt. I lost two in a row, and I don’t like doing that [laughs].
Sherdog.com: Are there any fights you want right now?
Sylvia: I want to fight everybody I’ve lost to, honestly. Fedor is the only guy out there that just straight up whooped my ass and beat me. I know I can beat the other guys that I’ve lost to. I believe I can beat Fedor. I’d definitely like to fight him. I definitely want to get on a win streak, put two or three wins together and then, if everything goes right, I can fight him down the road. Everyone else is all locked up in the UFC, so I won’t be able to get a rematch [with] Randy [Couture], [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira or Frank Mir. I just got to wait and see what happens with those guys’ career and mine, and maybe we’ll meet down the road.
Sherdog.com: You had the opportunity to challenge for the World Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight championship when you fought Fedor. Do you feel that’s a valid title and did it mean anything to you?
Sylvia: No, it didn’t really mean much. WAMMA hasn’t been established yet. I think they’re doing the right things. Hopefully, they will be able to be established, but with some of the big shows, EliteXC and IFL, going under -- if they were going to recognize the belt -- it’s kind of hard to. If the UFC doesn’t recognize the belt as being number one, then it really isn’t, right?
The UFC is the big dog in town. I don’t think they have the number one heavyweight champion. Fedor is definitely the best heavyweight out there. But they do have one of the best 205ers. They definitely have the best middleweight. They definitely have the best [welterweight] and the best 155-pounder in the world. I think Robbie Lawler is definitely a close second in the [middleweight] division, [and] they don’t have [him] yet. Other than that, they have all the divisions locked up.
Sherdog.com: Do you think Lawler’s a credible threat to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva?
Sylvia: You know, he’s the guy out there that I think he can beat Anderson. It’s the fact that when he gets hit, he gets pissed off, [and] he’s gonna get you.
Sherdog.com: What did you think of the Randy Couture-Brock Lesnar fight at UFC 91?
Sylvia: I was disappointed. I thought Randy was handing him his ass [in] the first round and the second round; he was controlling him, but Brock’s a monster, man. The punches he threw weren’t textbook, but he hit Randy in the right spot. And you know, being 285 pounds, you hit somebody, it hurts. [He] hit the right spot, and he was able to capitalize on it and jump on it and get the win.