The MMA days of former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia are over and now he’s having a good time competing in slap fighting events. This is not to say that he forgot how badly he was treated by the UFC towards the end of his career.
In a new interview with Presentation Radio, Sylvia revealed that he almost returned to the UFC in 2012 to fight Daniel Cormier.
“We already got a contract. They sent us a contract,” said Silvia. “They wanted us back after having such a big winning streak together. Whenever they buy Strikeforce. So, they made me quarrel. They asked me to fight DC and we said yes. Then they secured two more fights, win or lose, with DC fighting in the UFC. Kuz that was going to be his last Strikeforce fight altogether. And we very much agreed on it.”
“It was a very good contract. I want to say it was 80/80, 90/90, 100/100 as long as you win. But yeah, we signed it and sent it, they never sent it. And Monty asked Sean Shelby, he said, ‘Dude, what’s the Happening with Tim’s necklace?”. He’s like, ‘Yeah, Dana changed his mind.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, Mom.’ Really honest and I was really angry.”
Sylvia was on a 7-1 winning streak at the time, which seemed more than good enough to bring a former former champ back to the UFC. But Sylvia thinks he was disrespected by Dana White and Fertita. So why bring him back?
“I was a disgruntled employee and they were bosses, I guess you could say,” he said. “And obviously that’s the truth because I’m not the only one. It keeps going. They don’t respect the fighters all the time. Look at the way Dana talked about Nganuu. He was supposedly the worst guy on the planet, and now that he’s gone, he’s Bad? That’s just bulls–. Dana’s just talking– trying to make herself look better.”
Isn’t Siviya worried he’s closing the door on a possible move to the Power Slap League’s Dana White, the hottest player in slap sports?
“No. There’s going to be a lot of things that have to come into play,” he said. One is, I was brought in as one of the owners of the Slap Fight Alliance. So, it has to be co-promotion. I have to get a verbal apology from Dana White. I have to be in. UFC Hall of Famers right away. And yeah… I don’t see any of that stuff happening.”
Sylvia just participated in another slapping fight event this weekend, and we’ll make sure you get the results and highlights as soon as they become available. Until then, you’ll have to make do with this cross-bow snapshot of Dana White.