Former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia hasn’t set foot in the Octagon in fifteen years. He once boasted the most heavyweight title defenses in UFC history until Stipe Miocic surpassed him in 2016.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Sylvia claimed, in his prime, he would take out PFL’s hottest signing, fellow former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Claims He Would “Destroy Francis Ngannou”
“I don’t think Francis is that good. 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. 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.”
Tim Sylvia, like Francis Ngannou, left the UFC over the promotion’s working conditions. Sylvia is hardly surprised that the organization hasn’t changed since his time.
“I’m not surprised at all. I know the organization and the people running it and they’re greedy and they just don’t care.”
Francis Ngannou left the UFC over contract issues, signing a record-setting deal with the Professional Fighters’ League, a move that Sylvia called “awesome.”
“It’s impressive. It’s awesome. 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 the UFC did it for Conor McGregor. 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.”
