Rise to Power | 31 May 13 | |||||
Pride of a Nation | 31 Aug 12 | |||||
Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best known for competing in the UFC, Sylvia has also fought for Affliction, the International Fighting Championships (IFC), and ONE FC.
Sylvia was born and raised in Ellsworth, Maine, attending Ellsworth High School and graduating in 1992. He joined a karate school as a child, and began wrestling in high school. After graduation, he worked construction, community gardening, hanging sheet rock, as a bouncer, and painting houses. After high school, he played semi-pro football for three years before becoming interested in MMA, and began to train with Marcus Davis, a fellow bouncer. During this time Sylvia decided to take up boxing and grappling. After training for a year, and winning grappling tournaments, he got the opportunity to fight in a Rhode Island no holds barred amateur event, in which he knocked out his opponent in 17 seconds.
A long time UFC fan, Sylvia and some friends attended UFC 28 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2000. In late 2000 Sylvia sold all of his belongings and moved to Bettendorf, Iowa, to train with Team Miletich which had members such as former UFC champions Matt Hughes and Jens Pulver. Sylvia was promoted to a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on October 31, 2011.
Sylvia has a son. In 2010, Sylvia confirmed that he is a police officer in the State of Illinois on a part-time basis (one day a month).
2002-2008 |
2008 |
2012-2013 |