"Big Tim" Out of Affliction Following Brutal KO

Image Courtesy of Sherdog

Timmy Goes Tim-Ber Out of "Trilogy" Following KO Loss to Mercer

While I've never been a big fan of "The Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia, I certainly feel for the guy.

After taking a brutal beating at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction "Banned" way back in July 19, 2008, Big Tim's most recent fight pitted him against aging boxer Roy Mercer in a bout that was originally scheduled to be strictly boxing but was changed last-minute into an official MMA match due to sanctioning issues.

This change didn't help Sylvia in the least, as Roy Mercer knocked him out in under 10 seconds.

Even worse, a planned fight at Affliction's third show "Trilogy" pitting Big Timmy against Paul Buentello has been called off due to concerns for Sylvia's health.

"I just think it’s too soon, and Monte (Cox, Sylvia’s manager) thinks it is too. We all agree that it should be 90 days off and I just don’t want to be that promoter that takes a chance. Tim’s a friend of mine, and even if he wasn’t a friend, it’s just too dangerous.”

These words come from Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio, and are perhaps one of the last nails in the coffin of Big Tim's career. Sylvia has seen his fair share of controversy over the years: fans have derided his reign as UFC Heavyweight Champion as "the best of the worst", seemingly saying that the only reason Sylvia gained gold was because the division itself was paper-thin. Others, including UFC President Dana White, have continuously mocked him for the fact that he would seemingly wear the UFC Heavyweight Championship wherever he went. And then of course there was the Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski III fight, which some consider one of the worst fights of all time.

So, can Tim rebound and get back into the fight game, or is this slide into obscurity a one-way ticket into retirement? Everybody loves a comeback, but only time will tell if Tim can come back from back-to-back-to-back losses.

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