News Tim Sylvia says he’d ‘destroy Francis Ngannou in my prime’

[Lee_]

Tim does everything Francis does, but not nearly as well. Tim would get pulverized in the first round, even steroid Timmy. Too much power coming at him.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

There isn't a single period in time where I would favor Sylvia over Francis lol. Are we talking about the same prime Tim here? The guy who would awkwardly come forward and trade in the pocket. He was one of the most immobile guys I've ever seen and only got away with it due to his height/reach and chin.

 

[mkt]

I know Brock’s wrestling is light years ahead of pudjianowski’s but I honestly see a fight between lesnar’s and Sylvia back in Sylvia’s prime going similar to that, with lesnar’s flinching with every jab landing on him causing him to shoot from far away and gassing

I don't...at least not the best version of Lesnar. He took the best shots Carwin could throw and didn't give up. He also ate a few shots from Mir in the rematch on his way to a few TDs. Now the Lesnar who fought Overeem was a bit different and gunshy. But when he came back, he managed to beat Mark Hunt...totally different build than Sylvia but a much harder puncher.

Tim's size and jab would make him a tough opponent, but I see Lesnar winning if we're talking about the best versions of both. It could be a close UD or even split UD, though.

 

[Poatan Power]

He was knocked out in 9 seconds by old man Mercer while he was in his prime

More revisionist history from sherdog dorks. Tim weighed 310 lbs for this fight, it was 2 years since his last win and 3 years since his win before that. laua sanko knows more about pre-210 MMA than you

 

[ultra321]

Damn ... not sure why Francis even bothered to show up. He wins ... people like you got a billion excuses for why he won fights.

not my fault if the truth hurts...

 

[ultra321]

The salt is still strong

Also, Ngannou still beat Gane with an injured knee.

Ngannou was simply too good for Cain and also retired him.

Bullshit... he injured his knee training for the Gane fight

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022...injury-before-ufc-270-designed-for-me-to-fall

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

I would watch. I liked Tim as a fighter and as man. I did make a lot of money of the Couture fight with my friends though. They thought Tim would destroy him in the first 30 seconds. Then Randy dropped him. Should have seen the horror in their eyes.

 

[RonDante]

Considering ngannou couldn’t even defend the belt without the judges help…. emmm?

 

[RonDante]

People shit on Tim way too much here. Honestly probably would've lost to Ngannou, but he was one of the early giant HWs at 6'8 with decent TDD and had power before his injuries. It's no different than saying Shogun sucks for his mixed record in the UFC after a legendary streak in pride.

Sylvia's ground game sucked in 2004, but so did most MMA fighters back then, they didn't have the knowledge and coaches we have today to avoid submission positions. He would've been fine in modern MMA where you just train to escape and avoid those spots. In 2004 you saw everyone getting armbarred on the ground, it's just not a viable meta today.

He turned boring after being champ and having injuries, but had a long ass reach he'd pepper guys to a decision. Before Stipe, he technically was the UFC's greatest HW. We'll never get to see what could've been with him, but he was hard to beat in his prime. One of the reasons Mir and Arlovski blew up in popularity was because they were able to actually catch him and stop him.

Kind of irrelevant but with shogun people forget he injured his acl 3 times early enough in his ufc career, including a surgery that kept him out for a year before the jones fight. His fight against hendo just after he’s slow flat footed and gassing quick, guy really wasn’t the same

 

[jarj]

Tim did throw one leg kick before the KO, but didn't attempt a TD which was his easiest path to win.

Tim not attempting a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight doesn't mean he wasn't intending to do so.

 

[mkt]

Tim not attempting a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight doesn't mean he wasn't intending to do so.

We don't know his intentions. But those were the circumstances of the fight. My guess is Tim was wiling to agree with Mercer's request at least for a few minutes, but we'll never know.

 

[Final Say]

I’m

Stipe is overall a more skilled, well-rounded, modernized fighter than Sylva. But prime Sylvia presented a LOT of problems as well--6'8", good striking/jab perfectly suited for his build, strong chin, etc. If they fought each other, I'd pick Stipe especially if he could get some TDs and mimic part of Couture's gameplan. OTOH, Struve KO'd Stipe, so Tim would definitely have a chance.

Prime Struve gives Tim trouble

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Also, what about Ngannou on the gear too ?

Lol c’mon bro. You’re clowning yourself at this point. I get it, why not “@“ a silver belch.

 

[HaulParris]

Sylvia had a decent jab which helped his plodding footwork, but I don't know if it would be enough to stop Ngannou.

 

[icemun]

Tim Sylvia and Francis Ngannou have a couple of things in common.


It’s been 15 years since Sylvia stepped foot inside the UFC octagon. The former heavyweight champion was a promotional staple throughout the 2000s and until Stipe Miocic came along in 2016 he had the most title defenses in divisional history.

Surpassing Miocic and taking the heavyweight torch from the proud Ohioan was Cameroon’s Ngannou. “The Predator” is historically the most devastating puncher in the history of mankind, which led him to the UFC title in his March 2021 rematch with Miocic. Ngannou defended the title once against Ciryl Gane via a unanimous decision before parting ways with the UFC earlier this year. Despite Ngannou’s great success and improvements since his first Miocic fight — a January 2018 unanimous decision loss — Sylvia hasn’t been impressed by the arguable best heavyweight on the planet.

“I don’t think Francis is that good,” Sylvia told Submission Radio. “He’s a monster with heavy hands but his punches come from his hips and he swings wild and crazy. He hits you, you’re going to sleep but a technical fighter like [Jon] Jones and Stipe, they beat him again.


“You saw what he did to Gane. He wouldn’t even stand up with him. He took him down. It was an ugly fight. He talks a lot for only winning a fight then defending against Ciryl Gane.

“I’d destroy him in my prime,” he continued. “If we fought right now he beats me but in my prime, if we could go back in time and I’m in my prime, he’s in his prime, I destroy him. He’s too wild. I was more of a technical striker than he is.

Sylvia, 47, and Ngannou, 36, share another thing in common aside from their statuses as former UFC heavyweight champions. Ideally, both men have admitted they would have liked to stay with and end their careers in the UFC. Unfortunately for them, fighting for their rights — whether in overall athletic freedoms or financials — resulted in early exits.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Sylvia said of UFC fighter pay still being a hot topic. “I know the organization and the people running it and they’re greedy and they just don’t care.”


After Sylvia’s “Fight of the Night” bonus-earning performance against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, things went south thanks to the arrival of Brock Lesnar in the promotion. The UFC newcomer instantly entered the UFC on a 350/350 ($350,000 to show, $350,000 to win) contract that included pay-per-view points, superseding the two-time champion Sylvia’s 100/100 without pay-per-view points.

Maine’s Sylvia was 24-4 at the time and couldn’t see the logic behind the numbers, therefore, prompting him to negotiate for more money along with pay-per-view points. Discussions never led anywhere other than “The Maine-Iac” offering to fight Lesnar and proposing that if he won he’d get the same contract. According to Sylvia, the UFC didn’t like the idea because of Lesnar’s lack of experience and he asked for and received his release.

Ngannou had his requests throughout his entire negotiation period that followed his Gane victory in January 2022 and he ultimately stuck to his guns, receiving his wish in the PFL. While Sylvia isn’t sold on the talent of Ngannou, he commends his fellow former heavyweight champion for standing his ground.

“It’s impressive. It’s awesome,” Sylvia said. “I’m glad he did it, I’m glad he stood up for himself but I don’t know if it was a mistake for him or not because I know they offered him a really, really, really good deal in the UFC. Some of the stuff he was asking for I don’t understand why it was necessary to be a part of the board and all that stuff. I don’t know.

“I’m glad he had the balls to do it. It would have been better if they got like five of the five top champions to do it all at once. I thought he was pretty good friends with ‘Izzy’ [Israel Adesanya] and Kamaru Usman. Those three were pretty tight. It would have been awesome if they stepped aside and said, ‘Hey, this is the way it is.’ I don’t know if he made the right choice or not. If he gets one big fight in boxing, he’s taken care of for the rest of his life but that’s a big if.

“I think in UFC he might have had that opportunity because UFC did it for Conor McGregor,” he concluded. “But Francis Ngannou is not a big draw. He did well but he’s not the greatest heavyweight of all time like he thinks he is.”

https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/7/...s-hed-destroy-francis-ngannou-in-my-prime-mma

Good drop TS

I never knew why he left.
UFC did sound greedy as fuck the way he tells it.

 

[mkt]

I’m
Prime Struve gives Tim trouble

I'd pick Tim at least 8 out of 10 times. He beat two guys taller than he was (Gan Mcgee and Wes Sims). They weren't great technical strikers but neither was Struve, who lost to almost every hard hitter he faced (JDS, Nelson, Browne, Hunt, etc.). Struve might submit him if it hit the ground, but I think it would mostly be a big tangled mess if they tried to grapple.

 

[MrCoffee]

He was knocked out in 9 seconds by old man Mercer while he was in his prime

You see his physical state as his prime there tubby chubs? How many chins are you typing with on that poor chair?

 

[WT3]

Yea I don't see it he is not a power puncher really not very mobile and can't wrestle.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

I don't...at least not the best version of Lesnar. He took the best shots Carwin could throw and didn't give up. He also ate a few shots from Mir in the rematch on his way to a few TDs. Now the Lesnar who fought Overeem was a bit different and gunshy. But when he came back, he managed to beat Mark Hunt...totally different build than Sylvia but a much harder puncher.

Tim's size and jab would make him a tough opponent, but I see Lesnar winning if we're talking about the best versions of both. It could be a close UD or even split UD, though.

I felt the reverse, Lesnar against Reem actually showed the most toughness, he kept coming at Alistair after taking some really big body shots and only went down when Reem caught him with a liver shot.

Carwin really I think Lesnar escaped purely on physical chin and Shane doing a bad job with the follow up GnP, before that as vs Cain he panicked and put himself in a bad position.

 

[Natural Order]

Chuckled how Tim felt the need to clarify he couldn't beat Francis now.

He was pretty slow, even in his prime. Had an underrated jab though that he could possibly have used to beat Francis, but probably a 1/15 kinda thing. Francis sends him to Bolivian 99% of the time.