Sherdog.com: Could Dana White’s attitude deter you from coming back to the UFC?
Sylvia: From a business standpoint, I want to do what’s best for me, and right now, I’m much more appreciated outside of the UFC. I’m gonna do what’s best for me and secure my future. Do I want to be back in the UFC someday? Absolutely. It’s just, right now, there’s money to be made outside of the UFC, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
Sherdog.com: With Randy Couture and Jon Fitch citing lack of respect as an issue in their run-ins with Dana White, will you need to feel respected by him before coming back to the UFC?
Sylvia: I don’t know if Dana’s capable of doing that. He’s a businessman, and he’s all about making the UFC name bigger and lining his pockets. I just signed a video deal, and I got a great deal. The only way I’d ever come back to the UFC is … obviously, they’d have to request me.
I’ll sign a deal with them, and I won’t fight anywhere else, but they won’t be able to put me in a video game and me not get money out of it, you know what I’m saying? It’s cool being in a video game when you’re a rookie and new to the game, but when you’ve been around as much as I have, you know the video games make millions of dollars, and you don’t get any money for it? I don’t think so.
Sherdog.com: You’ve always faced an uphill battle in your relationship with fans. How do you want them to see you?
Sylvia: I’ve always fought the best -- Fedor, [Andrei] Arlovski. I still want to fight guys in the top 10. I’m still in the top 10. I think I am one of the best in the world; it’s just I always lose to one, two and three. I don’t think there’s anybody in the world that’s fought as many top 10 guys as I have.
Sherdog.com: Any last words for your fans?
Sylvia: Thank you for still sticking around [laughs]. I know I’m not in the UFC. I’m not in the highlights right now, but I still have a lot of fans that are sticking around. I’ve seemed to pick up some more fans after the Nogueira and Fedor fights, so I appreciate that. I’m still gonna be fighting for four or five more years. I love it. I’ll always be around the sport, [even] when I’m retired, because I enjoy the sport. It’s given a lot to me, and I want to give back as much as I can.