So, I was doing my monthly scroll across the internet keeping tabs on fighters outside of the UFC and I came across something saying that Tim Sylvia had a fight this coming Saturday that I thought might be of some interest.
Here's the first article I found:
Quote:
Tim Sylvia on Randy Smith: “… I’m Going to Smash Him”
— mmaf2835 @ 3:57 pm June 11, 2012
Tim Sylvia on Randy Smith: “… I’m Going to Smash Him”
Lewiston, Maine (June 11, 2012) – Former two-time UFC World Heavyweight Champion is feeling good heading into his bout at this Saturday’s New England Fight’s (NEF) Fight Night III event at The Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. Sylvia will step into the cage with New York’s Randy “The Wolf” Smith as his opponent in a heavyweight showdown.
Sylvia (30-7, 19 KO’s, 4 Submissions), will be fighting in his home state for the first time as he takes on the respected veteran Smith (14-10-1, 7 KO’s, 2 submissions), who of-late has become a fixture on the Northeast regional circuit, racking up an impressive list of victories and a collection of title belts.
“I’ve seen a little bit of him on Youtube,” Sylvia said about his opponent, “He’s a tough kid and he likes to stand and bang. And that’s going to be a recipe for disaster for him because I’m going to smash him.” While confident, Sylvia says he’s not overlooking Smith, “I’m not looking at him as a stepping stone. I’m looking at him as a guy who wants a big name on his record with me being the victim. That’s not happening.”
Fighting in his home state for the first time in a 13 year pro career, Sylvia is looking forward to giving his fans a good show, “When I was at the last NEF show in Biddeford, it brought tears to my eyes when I heard the ovation from the crowd that I would be fighting in Maine at Fight Night III.”
In many media appearances, Sylvia has made it abundantly clear that he would ultimately like a return to the UFC before he retires. This has stirred up rumor after rumor about re-joining either the UFC or Strikeforce, “There’s nothing factual about any of those rumors at the moment, but if it happens then great. I’m ready and willing to fight anyone.”
NEW ENGLAND FIGHTS |
From that I found the entire fight card on the homepage that also had an interview with Tim.
NEW ENGLAND FIGHTS
Considering the really cool ShoFight card on Saturday and the Jorge Santiago Titan FC card on HDNet this Friday, I find myself somewhat perplexed as to why such a famous name like Sylvia(regardless of talent/skillset, Sylvia's name on the marquee should stand for something)is appearing on such an unpublicized and basically unknown card(against an unknown fighter), given his expressed desire to fight again for ZUFFA. It's weird to me especially when you factor in who HDNet sometimes has as their headliners for their shows and here's Tim Sylvia fighting and there's barely a peep?
I've always chocked alot of Tim's latter-day mishaps on tremendously poor management and can't help but feel this is another example. Maybe he's getting a good payday, but one would think that Tim would desire some bigger name fights(I can think of many past-their-prime fighters who could headline a fight with Tim that would draw alot more eyes) on bigger stages if he wants to make a genuine argument for another shot at the "big time".
Anyways, this caught my eye so I thought I'd share.