MMA: The rebirth of Tim 'The Maine-iac' Sylvia

The gym fell silent as Tim Sylvia walked in. Most of the people present knew who he was. Most had already seen him in action. But upon his arrival, mouths gaped open as eyes marveled at the sight of the 6’8", 270 pound fighter.

“Who’s the heaviest guy in here? Is it you or is it you?” Sylvia asked in jest. He was talking to two writers whom he easily outweighed by at least 50 pounds.

Sylvia stretched on the gym floor as beads of sweat started forming on his forehead. “Man, it’s so easy to lose weight here,” he said as his yellow shirt started to become translucent.

The Maine-iac, as he is called, has been a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter for more than a decade. He had his first official fight back in 2001 and he surely had other unsanctioned fights prior to that.

Now he is 37-years-old and he will be fighting on May 31 in ONE FC: Rise to Power.

“I don’t want to give myself a deadline on when I want to finish my career,” Sylvia said. “I’m still enjoying what I’m doing and I know I can still compete at a high level.”

Over his 12-year career, Sylvia has experienced the peaks and valleys in MMA. He has headlined UFC fight cards and he reigned as the heavyweight champion. He also suffered from horrible losses and was even stripped of a title.

From the bright lights of Las Vegas, Sylvia now finds himself halfway around the world. From being the main event against the likes of Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Andrei Arlovski, the Maine-iac now finds himself opening a fight card against a relative newbie in Tony Johnson.

“I don’t really know who he is,” Sylvia said. “But I’ve trained very hard for this fight and I know I can beat him. If I get a good shot in, I know I can still knock out anyone in this division.”

There was a time in his career when Sylvia felt like he hit a brick a wall. The losses piled up as his body refused to perform like it did a few years back. Then he changed camps and joined the American Top Team, which according to Sylvia changed everything.

“The biggest difference for me is that I’m no longer the best guy in the gym. When I was training in Iowa for five years, I knew I was the best guy there so it was very hard for me to push myself,” Sylvia said.

“Now I’m surrounded by ten legitimate heavyweights and I get beaten up a lot. I love it,” he added. “I feel that this is the rebirth of Tim Sylvia, the rebirth of the Maine-iac.”

ONE FC: Rise to Power will mark Sylvia’s second stint in Manila. His first fight in the Philippines was declared a no-contest as his nemesis Andrei Arlovski connected with illegal soccer kicks. Now he is out to get his first ONE FC victory in the Philippines.

“I love fighting here in the Philippines,” said Sylvia. “The people are very respectful and very knowledgeable.” The former champion also think that MMA can be the perfect sport for Filipinos if they follow his advice.

“Just take care of your body,” said Sylvia. “I don’t smoke and I don’t drink and I think that’s why I’m still fighting now.”

“MMA is an individual sport but you need to surround yourself with a good team, guys who will always have your best interest in mind, guys who will always protect you,” Sylvia added.

“That’s the recipe for a good MMA career.” - AMD, GMA News