Former UFC heavyweight champion KILLS OUT his rival with a sickening blow in ANOTHER brutal slap-fighting competition, where he competes despite suffering ‘blunt trauma’ in his career
- Former UFC champion Tim Sylvia won on his Slap Fight Championship debut
- Sylvia’s participation came despite health concerns over punch-fight events
- His MMA career ended after a scan showed signs of blunt trauma
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia made a brutal and victorious debut in the final Slap Fight Championship by knocking out his opponent in Oklahoma City.
Sylvia became the first former MMA fighter to compete in the controversial Slap Fighting Championship when he took on ‘the Bouncer’ in the super heavyweight division.
The 47-year-old, known throughout his MMA career as ‘the Maine-iac’, shared footage of him knocking out his rival on social media.
Footage showed Sylvia brutally punching his opponent in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and fall to the ground.
The blow led to Sylvia winning the fifth round match to secure the super heavyweight title.
Former UFC fighter Tim Sylvia, right, won his first Slap Fight Championship title in Oklahoma
Sylvia was a five-time UFC heavyweight champion before ending his career in 2015
The five-time heavyweight champion finished his UFC career with a record of 31 wins and 10 losses.
Sylvia suffered three straight losses in his last UFC fights and last played in the promotion when he was defeated by Ruslan Magomedov in a super heavyweight bout in 2013.
An attempt to return to MMA was terminated two years later, after he was not medically cleared to fight Juliano Coutinho.
His manager Monte Cox said at the time that the Mohegan Athletic Unit had found signs of blunt force trauma in an MRI scan.
“What they’re really saying is there’s damage from blunt force trauma,” Cox said ESPN. “He has damage there. Does it affect his daily life? Not that far.
“Not that he can say – but it’s certainly something to watch out for.”
Ben Rothwell, who previously faced Sylvia in the UFC’s heavyweight division, questioned the American for participating in the Slap Fight Championship, citing the MRI scan Sylvia had in 2015.
‘The new MRI I took was clearly without any problems’ answered Sylvia. “But my knees prevented me from running and doing cardio, so I couldn’t make the weight anymore.
Hit fight events have been heavily criticized for the potential risks to competitors
‘Ben thx for your concern. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with my brain. I bet our MRI would look the same.
“Took out of context, the MRI was not clear and could not be read, so I had to get another one.
“What they did see was what they thought was trauma from 16 years in a contact sport. Mine looks like any other fighter that’s been around that long.’
Neuroscientists have criticized the brutal sport for the risk of brain injury for the participants.
Formerly known as Punchdown, the Slap Fight Championship is the main rival of Dana White’s controversial Power Slap competition.