How good was Tim Sylvia?

When Timmeh was champ people were talking about him like he was a giant unstoppable force. Too big too much reach etc etc. Especially after he beat Andrei for the second time. I was in Vegas for the Couture fight I promise you the whole town was shocked. He is looked upon as a bum now but he was very good. But to answer your question I don't know if he could have beaten Kharitonov, or Cro Cop. Pretty doubtful imo. Still was a good champ at his prime. Respect the temmeh.
 
He had a good jab and his head was tough to reach for most guys.


Cmon...put some hespect on his name, guys.

Jeez
 
NicholasJBasile said:
Yeah man very fair point. Even as a Sylvia fan, I don't think it would be rational for me to proclaim that everyone is just crazy -- be justifiable or not, there are reasons why he rubbed folks the wrong way. In retrospect, the 3rd Arlovski fight wasn't too bad (I've gone back and rewatched), but at the time, it admittedly put me to sleep.
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I'd have to go back and rewatch but I'm sure you're right about it not being too bad. The first two were just so quick, everyone was expecting fireworks.
 
Tim was better than he'll ever get credit for because he was unpopular, but he only lost to the very best guys in his prime. He was legitiamately top 5-10 for years. He stopped guys with punches, kicks, knees, and subs. He fought Monson on the ground and Arlovski on the feet, so he was pretty damned versatile skill wise.
 
At his best he was top 5 but never top 3. Even in today's MMA, prime Tim might still be top 10 (definitely not top 5). He did the best with what he had to work with. He had a ton of size, but not very athletic. His team did a good job with utilizing his strengths
 
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Hauptstoss said:
When Timmeh was champ people were talking about him like he was a giant unstoppable force. Too big too much reach etc etc. Especially after he beat Andrei for the second time. I was in Vegas for the Couture fight I promise you the whole town was shocked. He is looked upon as a bum now but he was very good. But to answer your question I don't
know if he could have beaten Kharitonov, or Cro Cop. Pretty doubtful imo. Still was a good champ at his prime. Respect the temmeh.
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Sylvia had a back injury for the Couture fight. I'm not sure if a healthy version of Tim would do better, but it may have been a factor.
 
Sylvia had decent jab, reach, and takedown defense. Which was plenty of skill to beat some great fighters. I don't know why he gets so much hate here. Towards the end of his career he slowed down and faster fighters would catch him early. But he had the size + skill to rule his time, no one his size was quite at his level.
 
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HP_Nut said:
At his best he was top 5 but never top 3. Even in today's MMA, prime Tim might still be top 10 (definitely not top 5). He did the best with what he had to work with. He had a ton of size, but not very athletic. His team did a good job with utilizing his strengths
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He's also the first guy to beat Brandon Vera. That doesn't sound too impressive now, but Vera was 8-0 with 7 finishes, coming off a win against Frank Mir. Some actually believed Vera would achieve his goal of becoming LHW and HW champ. (I actually think he and many others besides Rampage could've taken 38-year old Liddell's belt). Sylvia used his size/reach to bully Vera and keep him against the cage. It wasn't exciting but it was effective, and Vera's aura completely left him after that fight.
 
prime timmy is a top5 heavyweight in ANY period of MMA history
 
He wasn't very likeable but I think he's criminally underrated on here and by the ufc.

He had a good chin and decent movement.
 
The UFC simply did not have the heavyweight talent during that time period.

Sylvia was pretty good but wouldn’t be an elite in Pride.
 
He was a very good fighter. Good standup and wrestling. Tim was champ at the time, and among the top 10 best fighters in the world.

I doubt he would beat Kharitonov or Mirko, but he was top ten back them, and would be top ten in todays division.
 
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