Dana White: Brandon Vera 'likely' to face Tim Sylvia

Brandon Vera should beat Tim Sylvia if the Staph infection doesn’t get him first.

I’ve always thought of Tim Sylvia as overrated, but for some reason, he still wins. Maybe the height difference, maybe the intimidation. Whatever it is, he does very well. I hope to see Brandon Vera chop down that tree though.

Ironic, If Vera would have taken the opportunity to fight Timmy before he probably would have been champ right now… Now we have both these guys need a win bad to get into the title hunt of this stacked division.

Should be a intresting fight , if Sylvia can keep him at bay with his reach he could possibly win , Vera has much better stand up tho overall.

Brandon Vera is just not big enough or strong enough to beat the elite heavyweights of MMA. He may hang with them for a round or two, but will not win against the best heavyweights of MMA. Tim Syliva is huge and Vera is so much smaller than him. Sylvia will absolutely destroy Vera and send him down to light heavyweight.

Red-

How did Sylvia lose to someone the same height as Brandon then? Randy dropped him with one punch, and Vera has lethal kicks.

Sorry but Tim’s size advantage was exposed by Randy.

Brandon Vera is just not big enough or strong enough to beat the elite heavyweights of MMA. He may hang with them for a round or two, but will not win against the best heavyweights of MMA. Tim Syliva is huge and Vera is so much smaller than him. Sylvia will absolutely destroy Vera and send him down to light heavyweight.

..Do you consider Tim to an elite HW ?? Tim in the beginning(like da first few fights in da UFC) was real good..but then he turned to ass cheeks..Brandon should beat him..even with the height and reach of Sylvia. Couture like he did with Vitor Belfort showed the world how to beat Tim Slyvia..give him a good opponent that executes the gameplan..Brandon Vera is nicknamed “The Truth”..for good reason..he will truthfully beat up on Sylvia’s ass.

its about time both of them got back in there, this is a fight i’ve wanted to see for a while, a test for vera and a chance for sylvia to get back in title contention…

Brandon Vera is just not big enough or strong enough to beat the elite heavyweights of MMA.

Let me guess….. You said the same about Couture too right?

man Im really glad to see that this match is more likely to happen the the Vera vs AA matchup. I really hope Vera chops Sylvia down but who knows. Couture did.

I thought Sylvia had the same rough bout of staph infection that McFedries and Fisher had? That just happened, how is he supposed to be in game shape to fight Vera in October? He also just had back surgery, so it’s not like he’s a spring chicken.

its about time both of them got back in there, this is a fight i’ve wanted to see for a while, a test for vera and a chance for sylvia to get back in title contention…

On vacation Spida? Haven’t seen you on the block it seems for a few days now.

We’ll see what Vera can do. If he beats Tim then he’ll wish he had left his manager a while back.

YES! This is awesome news. People saying Sylvia will “destroy” Vera are smoking crack.. Maybe beat him, sure.. But destroy? Not a chance..

Syvlia hasn’t come with it in over 4 fights (Couture, Monson, and AA twice).

Vera will definitely be aggressive. I can’t wait!

..Do you consider Tim to an elite HW ?? Tim in the beginning(like da first few fights in da UFC) was real good..but then he turned to ass cheeks..Brandon should beat him..even with the height and reach of Sylvia. Couture like he did with Vitor Belfort showed the world how to beat Tim Slyvia..give him a good opponent that executes the gameplan..Brandon Vera is nicknamed “The Truth”..for good reason..he will truthfully beat up on Sylvia’s ass.

I would even go as far as saying that Tim Sylvia winning would be the upset.

If this fight happens it should be a good fight, I think big tim is a little better than most give him credit. He’s as boring as hell, not the most technical fighter but his sheer size is hard to deal with and I actually think this fight is closer to 50/50.

for those people saying vera couldent take elite hw’s.. vera is an elite heaveyweight. the man has seirous skills, i mean he dominated vets like silva and mir.. i know some people say they are washed up, but any of us going in there against them.. shit i think i can fight, but im sure id crap my pants. vera got real tight stand up and hes really smart on the ground, he knows how to roll. so i definetly think he could last against the ’’top’’ heavyweights. if not win.. i think he’ll be able to go the distance with the best

If this bout is added to the Ohio card count me in. Nothing like hearing 18,000 plus fans boo big timmy (Columbus was great). Any pay per view where Tim has a chance of losing I will buy. After vera destroys tim I would like to see him fight Nog, Cro-Cop, and then kick his awkward ass out of the UFC. Off you go “walrus”

Brandon Vera is just not big enough or strong enough to beat the elite heavyweights of MMA. He may hang with them for a round or two, but will not win against the best heavyweights of MMA. Tim Syliva is huge and Vera is so much smaller than him. Sylvia will absolutely destroy Vera and send him down to light heavyweight.

Dead on! Vera is a LHW waiting to happen. He best just get used to cutting weight now. I think he could compete at HW, but I think his build is more suited for LHW.

PhilQNY: I do consider Tim Sylvia to be an elite heavyweight. Why you ask: well because he is a top ten ranked heavyweight fighter; I understand we can’t take ranking too seriously all the time, but anyone that is ranked top ten in the world in whatever they do, whether it is the faster runner or weightlifter or heavyweight fighter that is pretty impressive. Brandon Vera is really good, but I don’t think he is great. If you are good enough to be in the top ten; this means you are great.

djpullout: Well I don’t have to think that Couture is smaller than Sylvia because the fact is that Couture is smaller than Sylvia. Couture is even smaller than Vera, but Couture is stronger and in much better shape than Vera. Vera has a gut and Couture doesn’t. Couture is amazing and an all-time great. Let’s not put Couture and Vera in the same sentence. If Vera could do half the things that Couture has done in MMA; then Vera will be an all-time great, as well; only time will tell.

BTay: You’re absolutely right BTay; Sylvia was exposed, but I don’t expect him to be as sluggish as he looked against Couture. No one expected Couture to drop Sylvia. Sylvia didn’t expect Couture to stand with him and Sylvia will expect Vera to stand with him.

Dead on! Vera is a LHW waiting to happen. He best just get used to cutting weight now. I think he could compete at HW, but I think his build is more suited for LHW.

Not so sure. Vera put away Silva in round 1 where Silvia needed to go to decision. Vera beat Mir where Silvia got his arm broke. Vera is the real deal.

With the recent additions to the UFC HH division..Tim Sylvia will never ever hold the belt again..He was dominate at time when there wasn’t any noise makers in the division..he went from being the white shark to a red snapper.

I would have preferred to see Vera vs. Werdum. It would have been a BJJ chess match.

Not so sure. Vera put away Silva in round 1 where Silvia needed to go to decision. Vera beat Mir where Silvia got his arm broke. Vera is the real deal.

Good point JJC.

Whenever people start talking about how Vera is the greatest, I’m usually the first one to say that he hasn’t fought top competition yet. I’m sure that if it was up to him, he would have fought against top competition already.

Vera vs. Timmy or Arlovski. Give us either one of these fights. Although, he probably has a better chance of the UFC putting up against Dan Christianson or Wes Combs.

Tim Sylvia “whos coming off back injury and has a staph infection..”

Can’t you just find someone else? The guy’s probably halfway to dead.

Red-

How did Sylvia lose to someone the same height as Brandon then? Randy dropped him with one punch, and Vera has lethal kicks.

Sorry but Tim’s size advantage was exposed by Randy.

 Exposed by Randy…says enough. Vera is not Couture

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! This is so much better then Vera/AA

OMG Silvia beating Vera? Not gonna happen. Silvia is a scrub, i’ve been saying it for years. He’s fought BS fighters and got luckly w/ AA the second fight and AA didnt show up for the third fight. Silvia is not a striker, he’s not a wrestler, he’s not submission guy and he’s def. not a ball room dancer. He wins cuz of his height and goofy weight.

Now Vera on the other hand is a muay thai champ and he is a brown belt under Lloyd Irving, who is a bad ass gracie jui-jitsu guy. Now even all the haters out there cant deny that Vera is a serious striker but Lloyd has been saying for a long time that Vera’s ground game is even better then his stand up. And if Lloyd is teaching him, then i beleive it!
Vera for a brutal right hand KO after beating Silvia’s legs for a round or 2.

L.I.M.A.
l r a r
o v r t
y i t s
d n i
  g a
    l

bah messed up my LIMA thing that i work so hard on. LOL

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! he is a brown belt under Lloyd Irving, who is a bad ass gracie jui-jitsu guy.

It’s Lloyd Irvin, bro.

What is up with all of the Vera haters? Tim Sylvia is overrated and top 10? In what list? Please, who has Tim Sylvia beat? None of his fights with AA were impressive. Gan McGee? Wait he did beat Jeff Monson, oh but again that was a duck and run match. Tim Sylvia is horrible. I cannot wait until Vera knocks him out. I am just disappointed it was not for the title.

On vacation Spida? Haven’t seen you on the block it seems for a few days now.

yeah got behind on the cable bill and they cut me off, bastards, back in business now though

With the recent additions to the UFC HH division..Tim Sylvia will never ever hold the belt again..He was dominate at time when there wasn’t any noise makers in the division..he went from being the white shark to a red snapper.

agreed!

How great was the in octagon interview wit Tim after he lost the title to RC. Silva said: “I came into the fight wit a bad back” then the crowd boooooood and tim said no im not making excuses.

After vera beats him I guarentee we will hear about his back, his staph infection, ingrown toe nail. who knows what BS excuse tim will have for us this time!

There is no logical reason for Vera to lose this fight. Tim Sylvia hasn’t had a fighter’s heart for a long time now, and he’s damn sure no maniac. For Sylvia to pull off this upset, he will have to fight like a wild animal and not get caught by the highly skilled Vera. If Sylvia plays it cautious Vera will be able to pick away at him and pull an easy decision. Even though he lost the championship to a legend in Randy Couture, I think Sylvia is stuck to being a stepping stone to up and coming heavyweights like Vera……… Than again, the beauty of mma is in two months or so we could all be saying holy crap, Tim Sylvia destroyed Brandon Vera. Highly doubtful.

yeah got behind on the cable bill and they cut me off, bastards, back in business now though

Laff, spend more time working and less time post =p

I got Sylvia ahead by a long shot. Better at teh stuff, better on his feet, similar striking style just MUCH longer reach.

Laff, spend more time working and less time post =p
I got Sylvia ahead by a long shot. Better at teh stuff, better on his feet, similar striking style just MUCH longer reach.

Better on his feet? Have you seen both Silvia’s and Veras last couple of fights?

I’ve always thought of Tim Sylvia as overrated, but for some reason, he still wins. Maybe the height difference, maybe the intimidation. Whatever it is, he does very well. I hope to see Brandon Vera chop down that tree though.

Thats because Tim is underrated. No one gives him the respect he deserves. He is not an exciting fighter, which is why people say he sucks. He is big and strong enough though to knock out just about anyone with one punch. People think he has gotten worse since his early UFC days, but he has actually improved- the problem is now just a lack of aggression. This fight could go either way. I would rather see Vera win personally- I would like to see him as champ someday.

I am a HUGE Andrei Arlovski fan and was really hoping he would be fighting Vera. Now that Tim is, I hope he Punches Veras face through the mat….Most overrated PUNK in the UFC

Mate I agree that Vera and Randy are obviously two different fighters. But when you look at it and try to quickly some them up you have

Vera: Extremely good striking including kicks, knees and hands
    : Weapon of choice BJJ but no one in the UFC has
      lasted long enough for him to showcase it.

Randy : Extremely good in the clinch (dirty boxing)
      : Extremely good wrestler
      : Weapon of choice ground and pound

Both are relaxed and execute perfect strategy, Randy pre-plans while Vera plans once he steps in the cage, but both do it well. Vera hasn’t earned the respect Randy has, but is as close as any newcomer to the sport will ever be when comparing himself to a 44 year old accomplished fighter who is 1 of 4 in the UFC hall of fame.

@Red

Vera is my favourite type of fighter, a fighter who finishes. As I’ve said before 5/8 of his wins have been within the first round. Yeah he hasn’t faced a top fighter who is blazing at the time but that is still impressive considering he is so inexperienced professionally.

You consider Tim to be an elite, maybe when the division was as the article said “lack luster” but certainly not now.
“Top 5”
counts in the UFC not the TOP 10. Each didvision has its top 5 not including the champ, name any fighter who ranks as 8th best in his division currently in the UFC who is considered an Elite, look at the rankings on this site for example by the time you get to 5th best in any division it is a stretch calling them MMA’s elite. At any time there only a handful of elites Tim is not one of them.

Then you said Tim looked sluggish against Randy, but you don’t expect that from this fight (if it happens). What makes you say that, the huge loss he’s just had to a much smaller guy, the staph infection he contracted or the recent back surgery he has just undergone?

Finally Randy has some great accomplishments by winning the right fights at the right time. He is one of my favourite fighters but has never been celebrated for his winning ratio because it isn’t that great, but when you take on the best LHW’s and step into the land of the giants (HW’s) it is understandable. But if any fighter can bridge that gap once more and stand between the two divisins I think it will be Vera (to me he should already be fighting at LHW).

Let me know what you think, be brutal don’t hold any punches that goes to anyone in this forum. NOT A CHALLENGE! I just like to get good feed back.

YES! This is awesome news. People saying Sylvia will “destroy” Vera are smoking crack.. Maybe beat him, sure.. But destroy? Not a chance..

Syvlia hasn’t come with it in over 4 fights (Couture, Monson, and AA twice).

Vera will definitely be aggressive. I can’t wait!

I would say that Sylvia “came with it” in the second Arlovski fight as he survived a devastating shot that put him on the brink of defeat and came back to knock out Arlovski to regain the title.

Also, as great of a matchup as this is, I do feel that Sylvia is gettin’ the raw end here as he had a back surgery that clearly was a problem during the Couture fight (not making excuses, but Sylvia clearly wasn’t at 100%) and a recent staph infection. Look at Liddell’s first fight and Hughes’s first fight after losing the title – Jardine and Lytle. No disrespect to either of them, but Sylvia coming off surgery and staph infection is getting thrown right into the mix. I think it just shows how much the UFC brass dislikes Sylvia.

Vera needs to drop down to 205 – he is too small for the heavy weights .. but, only time will tell.

People need to forget the Randy fight, they were friends and Tim is loyal … emotions took over that night. In normal circumstance, Tim would have smashed Randy.

Laff, spend more time working and less time post =p

ok mom, i’ll do that

I think that the lose to Randy was an extremly big wake up call for Tim. He took for granted his height advantage way too much after beating Pedro. His pre-fight interviews for the Randy fight were so overly confident it was sickening.

Tim is going to come back stronger than ever. He’s gonna push the pace on vera. He’ll be looking for Vera’s kicks. He’ll sprawl great just like he did with Monson. He’ll keep his punching distance and break Vera’s face.

I just hope that Vera doesn’t think he can do what Randy did. He doesn’t have close to the brains of Randy. If he thinks he can and tries to box with Tim, it’s gonna be nasty, censor the children.

I like and respect both of these fighters. This is a good come back fight for Timmy and a good first test for Vera. This fight will be alot more competitive than people think. Tim’s size is a problem for ANYONE. I’m sorry, but NO ONE would have beaten Randy Couture that night.

Tim has always been dangerous coming off a loss. Brandon Vera has a bright future is this sport. But don’t make the mental error and count out Timmy. You might not like how he looks are acts, but HE IS THE REAL DEAL.

This should be a great fight!

Man I see this being a tough one for both, a hard one to call. Advantage Slyvia if he comes out like he used to, before he had the belt. If he comes out like he does when he had the belt playin it safe, advantage vera.

What is up with all of the Vera haters? Tim Sylvia is overrated and top 10? In what list? Please, who has Tim Sylvia beat? None of his fights with AA were impressive. Gan McGee? Wait he did beat Jeff Monson, oh but again that was a duck and run match. Tim Sylvia is horrible. I cannot wait until Vera knocks him out. I am just disappointed it was not for the title.

Tim is overrated? Sorry partner…. Vera is the HYPE machine. Eveyone seems to think that Vera is the second coming of Fedor, and the guy hasn’t fought anyone NEAR the top 10. Tim beat Arlovski twice and beat Jeff Monson. Vera will have his untested hands full with Timmy.

You might not want to watch…..

RING RUST….

Tim is overrated? Sorry partner…. Vera is the HYPE machine. Eveyone seems to think that Vera is the second coming of Fedor, and the guy hasn’t fought anyone NEAR the top 10. Tim beat Arlovski twice and beat Jeff Monson. Vera will have his untested hands full with Timmy.

You might not want to watch…..

Frizz – First of all, I never said that Vera was underrated or overrated for that matter. I said that Tim is overrated. You show me a fight that he decisively won over a formidable opponent and I will drop it. Second coming of Fedor? No one ever said that. I said that I believe that he is a better fighter than Tim Sylvia and that when and if they do meet up, Vera will win. Face it, Tim Sylvia has fought in a lackluster division and has proven nothing. The fight with AA was a lucky one for Tim and the Monson fight was another example of the duck and run technique. If you think that beating Gan McGee convincingly (which was the only convincing fight for Tim) was enough to prove he is a “great” fighter than I am guessing that you are new to the MMA fan base.

Tim’s size is a problem for ANYONE. I’m sorry, but NO ONE would have beaten Randy Couture that night.

But remember that your boy Timmy was hurt and that was the reason he lost. Face it the guy is done. The HW division has no room for Timmy. Oh and like a previous poster said, anyone with a corner that said “look for the overhand right” would have done a better job.

I see Tim coming out and winning this one. Vera might look good for the first minute or so, and then Tim will overwhelm him with his reach, and power. Tim has beaten great guys…Rodriguez, Monson, AA, Ben Rothwell…Sure the OLD Frank Mir beat Tim, and Vera beat the washed up Mir, but that proves nothing as far as Vera being better. Tim has never been knocked out, and Monson couldn’t even submit him with many great opportunities, as well as the strength to force it. Tim all the way on this one…this is much like in elementary school where everyone thinks the cool kid can beat up the nerd only because he’s a nerd. Just because a lot of people dislike Tim for almost no reason doesn’t mean he’s going to be beaten wish such great odds in his favor both on paper, and his physical attributes.

Brandon Vera is just not big enough or strong enough to beat the elite heavyweights of MMA. He may hang with them for a round or two, but will not win against the best heavyweights of MMA. Tim Syliva is huge and Vera is so much smaller than him. Sylvia will absolutely destroy Vera and send him down to light heavyweight.

First, Brandon is 10 lbs heavier than Randy and we seen how skill overpowers size. Second, Vera mauls guys 250 lbs in his fights (Sherner, Mir ,Silva…)and in training (listen to the guys from his gym). I see this fight going down the same as Randy vs Tim ,only Vera will finish Tim. Vera is way to quick for slow Sylvia. Looks like we will find out in a couple of months.

The only person Tim Sylvia has beat is Jeff Monson, and that was only from sheer size. The fact that he didnt dominate that fight proves he sucks. Sure he beat Arlovski with an extremely lucky punch, and then a second time , which Arlovski looked horrible in, that still went to a decision. I expect Brandon Vera to make Big Timmy to go in for a second back surgery.

Red-
How did Sylvia lose to someone the same height as Brandon then? Randy dropped him with one punch, and Vera has lethal kicks.
Sorry but Tim’s size advantage was exposed by Randy.
Exposed by Randy…says enough. Vera is not Couture

Your right, the one thing Vera has over Randy is KO power.

ok mom, i’ll do that

Vera takes this one IMO. Tim obviously has the edge in experience, but I see Vera’s tools winning out. Vera is gonna bring his muay thai kicks and knees. And if the fight goes to the ground, he has superior BJJ.

I train at Lloyd Irvin’s gym in MD and Master Irvin himself told me that this fight was def. going to be happening in Cincinnati on October 20th.

Not only does Vera have an unbelievable ground game for a big man, he’s up in Big Bear right now training with Rampage.

Technical Striking World Class BJJ = Bad Night for Sylvia

Your right, the one thing Vera has over Randy is KO power.

Red-
How did Sylvia lose to someone the same height as Brandon then? Randy dropped him with one punch, and Vera has lethal kicks.
Sorry but Tim’s size advantage was exposed by Randy.
Exposed by Randy…says enough. Vera is not Couture
Your right, the one thing Vera has over Randy is KO power.
Tim will expect very to strike, Randy had the element of surpirse, never underestimate that. I think it’s hard to call cuz we have never seen Vera really tested. Maybe his abilites can hang with Tim no prob, maybe Tim has far superiour striking, or maybe there even, and it will be a war. This is one where its hard to look to teh past to study Vera, this is a whole new situation, Vera has never faced anybody this good, nor has he ever struggled.

I agree with what your saying and I’m one of the few who gives Tim credit for how dangerous his size and reach can be. Tim does well against strikers ,but he doesn’t do so well against wrestler who can strike . Don’t forget Vera was a wrestler first and then MMA fighter. I think there is alot of Vera’s game that we haven’t seen. What impresses me the most about Vera is that Randy said ,Brandon is the HW he would least like to fight. To me that says alot about his skills because Randy is a top notch fighter and he’s trained with Vera so he knows what he’s all about. It’s going to be a great fight, I can’t wait.

I hope Vera takes it to him. I am not sure if I can stand to watch TS fight anymore. He is just to damn boring.

I see Tim coming out and winning this one. Vera might look good for the first minute or so, and then Tim will overwhelm him with his reach, and power. Tim has beaten great guys…Rodriguez, Monson, AA, Ben Rothwell…Sure the OLD Frank Mir beat Tim, and Vera beat the washed up Mir, but that proves nothing as far as Vera being better. Tim has never been knocked out, and Monson couldn’t even submit him with many great opportunities, as well as the strength to force it. Tim all the way on this one…this is much like in elementary school where everyone thinks the cool kid can beat up the nerd only because he’s a nerd. Just because a lot of people dislike Tim for almost no reason doesn’t mean he’s going to be beaten wish such great odds in his favor both on paper, and his physical attributes.

I agree i think alot of people arent giving Tim a chance and a healthy Tim is a deff good match for Vera. This is a 50/50 fight. Vera is great on paper and has been impressive in his fights and we know Tim is prob gonna have the edge in the standup. I dont see Vera using the Thai clinch and knees to effectively against Tim. Vera has the edge on the ground though. Its probably gonna be all standup with someone hopefully getting KO’ED.

its about time both of them got back in there, this is a fight i’ve wanted to see for a while, a test for vera and a chance for sylvia to get back in title contention…

Exacty!

Tim Sylvia is an elite fat ass and Brandon Vera hasn’t fough since the fall of 2008. As the WWF’s Jim Cornett would say (if you watched wrestling as a kid) this is going to be a slobber knocker. This may be one of the sloppiest fights in the history of UFC. I can certainly see this going to a decision and the fans clapping afterwards not because it will be a great war …. But because they’d be happy to see these guys leave the octagon and watch a fight worth watching.

Fall of 2008 that woul be kinda tough …. Fall of 2006****** my bad

Vera will knock Tim’s man Boobs off.

Two words people 1) Leg & 2) Kick. Leg kicks will sway this bought in Vera’s favour. Im a Militech camp fan and was happy for Tim against Arlovski, but this Vera, his legs might as well be a louisville slugger and i don’t think Big slow heavy Tim is going to be able to stand in front of him and strike the way he’s going to need to in order to finish. Tim is going to take too much lower body damage from the faster Vera. And it’s only going to make him slower moving around.
This is Vera’s first BIG challange because he walked through everyone so far. I say Vera stops the fight late in the 2nd because Tim can’t stand up anymore and falls into a guillitine choke for the tap out. Or on the way down eats a knee for a little nap. If Tim wins, give him Minataro not Mir, then a rematch for the belt no matter who’s holding

BIg zIno

I hope Vera wins but after such a long absence from fighting to then come back in the mix and fight a Tim Silva coming off a terible loss where he lost the title,I could see Vera get KOed round one in this fight,thats not what I want but if Im honest my prediction is Silva by KO before the end of the first round.

Vera all the way I’m afraid – but who ever wins Vera will make it a good fight to watch! Tims fights have never been all that exciting apart from when he fought Andre for the first and second time. This one will be explosive – someone is getting knocked out!!!!!

Mate I agree that Vera and Randy are obviously two different fighters. But when you look at it and try to quickly some them up you have

Vera: Extremely good striking including kicks, knees and hands
: Weapon of choice BJJ but no one in the UFC has
lasted long enough for him to showcase it.

Randy : Extremely good in the clinch (dirty boxing)
: Extremely good wrestler
: Weapon of choice ground and pound

Both are relaxed and execute perfect strategy, Randy pre-plans while Vera plans once he steps in the cage, but both do it well. Vera hasn’t earned the respect Randy has, but is as close as any newcomer to the sport will ever be when comparing himself to a 44 year old accomplished fighter who is 1 of 4 in the UFC hall of fame.

@Red

Vera is my favourite type of fighter, a fighter who finishes. As I’ve said before 5/8 of his wins have been within the first round. Yeah he hasn’t faced a top fighter who is blazing at the time but that is still impressive considering he is so inexperienced professionally.

You consider Tim to be an elite, maybe when the division was as the article said “lack luster” but certainly not now.
“Top 5”
counts in the UFC not the TOP 10. Each didvision has its top 5 not including the champ, name any fighter who ranks as 8th best in his division currently in the UFC who is considered an Elite, look at the rankings on this site for example by the time you get to 5th best in any division it is a stretch calling them MMA’s elite. At any time there only a handful of elites Tim is not one of them.

Then you said Tim looked sluggish against Randy, but you don’t expect that from this fight (if it happens). What makes you say that, the huge loss he’s just had to a much smaller guy, the staph infection he contracted or the recent back surgery he has just undergone?

Finally Randy has some great accomplishments by winning the right fights at the right time. He is one of my favourite fighters but has never been celebrated for his winning ratio because it isn’t that great, but when you take on the best LHW’s and step into the land of the giants (HW’s) it is understandable. But if any fighter can bridge that gap once more and stand between the two divisins I think it will be Vera (to me he should already be fighting at LHW).

Let me know what you think, be brutal don’t hold any punches that goes to anyone in this forum. NOT A CHALLENGE! I just like to get good feed back.

Hey Holdin Ropes, I appreciate you wanting to debate with me. I have a tough time arguing with what you said. I just feel that Syliva doesn’t get the respect he deserves as an MMA fighter; he isn’t even my favorite heavyweight fighter.

Arlovski was my favorite fighter until Randy moved up in weight and became a heavyweight. People say Sylvia’s style is boring, but that is the way he fights and it works for him. Let’s say Sylvia beat Randy back in UFC 68; then I doubt so many people would say that Vera would beat Syliva for the title. Vera beating Sylvia would have been much more debatable. Since Syliva absoultely got his ass kicked by Randy; he lost some of that intimidation that fighters had of him. No one now will think of him as the big mean giant until he proves it again by beating some top level fighters.

Sylvia might not be a 100 percent for this fight, but for arguments sake let’s say he comes in at 100 percent. Then Vera is going to have his hands full even more. Randy is smaller than Vera, but Randy is stronger and Randy is a shredded and more well put together small heavyweight than Vera. Vera is kind of soft, especially as a small heavyweight. It is just my opionion that after Vera’s fight with Sylvia that Vera will pull a Mike Swick: Vera will realize how much stronger the big and tough the contenders in his divison are and drop a weight class.

As I said earlier I agree with you Holdin Ropes with pretty much all of your analysis. I agree Vera is an exciting fighter. It’s not like he is very young; I think Vera is 29 and Syliva is 30 or 31 years old. In terms of experience he doesn’t have as much as Sylvia, but as you said for a newcomer he is getting a lot of hype and it seems to be for the right reasons, as he is an exciting fighter.

One thing I might disagree with you on is that I do consider Tim to be an elite fighter because the guy only has three losses and he is a former two time heavyweight champion. Also his style is hard to adapt to because he doesn’t want to engage and is very tentative. Sylvia’s tentativeness might spell doom for Vera because if Vera has the balls to come after Tim; Tim might pick his spots and knock Vera out just like the way Sylvia knocked Arlovski out out of nowhere. One thing the two of us can agree on is that we are both looking forward to this fight. Later Holdin Ropes.

Im a huge Verra fan, however lets be real he hasn’t really been tested yet. Tim is the perfect opponent for verra at this time in his career. A win over big Tim will validate all the hype surounding him. Tim is my least fsvorite fighter in all of MMA,however he is dangerous opponent. Im not sure how ready Verra is at this point in his career…. but he has soooooo much potential. One day I expect Verra to become a serious force in MMA. If he beats tim he will be well on his way to stardom

The sad reality is they both have the excuses if they lose. Tim will claim staph infection, back, sand in his vagina etc. Vera will be rust and his ego is so big he might not make weigh in. excuses are like a$$holes boys everyone’s got one and they all stink……well except for vera’s because his is made of solid gold and his shit is so pure it could single handedly stop world hunger! lmao

vera should face AA.. thats a fight i would love to see. Tim Silvia is not going to be healthy enough for the fight. And if he does make the fight why would anybody want to see a fighter coming off back surgery and staph infection in the cage so early. Another “nightmare” fight where the fighter is clearly not healthy or strong enough to fight.

If your mom has titties as nice as mine, Id plow her…

The sad reality is they both have the excuses if they lose. Tim will claim staph infection, back, sand in his vagina etc. Vera will be rust and his ego is so big he might not make weigh in. excuses are like a$$holes boys everyone’s got one and they all stink……well except for vera’s because his is made of solid gold and his shit is so pure it could single handedly stop world hunger! lmao

LOL

I would even go as far as saying that Tim Sylvia winning would be the upset.

 I second that motion.

Id rather see Vera vs AA then sylvia

Your right, the one thing Vera has over Randy is KO power.

Yeah but Randy manhandled Tim, taking him down at will and avoiding his jab. There are very few people with Randy’s takedown skills. Randy exposing someone like Tim should not be big surprise. He is an olympic caliber wrestler, or was. He can do what most people can not do, step thru, under or around the jab and take a person down. That what makes a wrestler a wrestler.

  The argument being made about Silva winning a HW title in a lack luster division can be said about Vera running through the HW’s a over a year ago. He has beaten nobody. Washed up HWs, wow! Silva may not have won in the most wonderful of fashions but he still beat at very least AA and Monson. I am not sure if Silva really can keep up with the new breed of HW and I am not sure Vera could either. Vera more than likely will have to go smaller, LHW and Silvia either has to come out on complete fire or kiss the UFC good by. He can got to the WEC or IFL and be the HW champion over there.

Tim Sylvia is an elite fat ass and Brandon Vera hasn’t fough since the fall of 2008. As the WWF’s Jim Cornett would say (if you watched wrestling as a kid) this is going to be a slobber knocker. This may be one of the sloppiest fights in the history of UFC. I can certainly see this going to a decision and the fans clapping afterwards not because it will be a great war …. But because they’d be happy to see these guys leave the octagon and watch a fight worth watching.

What makes you think Vera will be in a sloppy and boring fight, he always brings it and that will make Tim bring it(or get KTFO).

El Padrino: Is Verra really in big bear wit Rampage n Bisping?

I’d much rather see Vera at 205. He’d be a monster.

Vera vs. Tito. That’s one I’d like to see.

I like Vera but i think Silvia is to much for him.

UFC 77 WANDERLAI,AND THEN THE VERA FIGHT SO FAR SO GOOD…WONDER IF THIS IS WHERE MACHIDA WILL KILL BISPING???

Tim Sylvia will not beat Brandon Vera , Vera has earned his keep among the heavyweight division, Sylvia will tire in the 3rd, Vera’s leg kick’s will hit there mark along with Vera’s striking ability as well,do you honestly think Vera would’nt have destroyed the Snoman Jeff Monson?? You people that think Sylvia’s going to walk away a winner even if he trains in “THE NATURAL’S” gym (if he’s even worthy of walking in the front door) just won’t make a differance…….Sylvia loses ,Vera wins that’s how it will end, watch and see……………….