Tim Sylvia MMAMemories.com Exclusive Biofile Published by Scoop Malinowski Last Updated on March 8th, 2008

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Status: Former 2 time UFC Heavyweight champ.

Ht: 6-8 Wt: 260

Born On: March 5, 1976 In: Eastbrook, Maine

Childhood Heroes: “Bruce Lee, Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson.”

Nicknames: “The Mainiac, Grizzly Bear.”

Hobbies/Interests: “I like to play paintball. Go hunting, of course. Do a lot of mountain biking. Play video games with the boys…out here in Iowa, there’s not much else to do. I like Halo on XBox. Takes about six hours a game. Sometimes me, Jens (Pulver), Jeremy (Horn) and Tony (Frycklund) stay up playing until two in the morning.”

Favorite Movies: “Scarface, Braveheart, Heat, We Were Soldiers.”

Musical Tastes: “Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Nelly.”

Favorite TV Shows: “Dukes of Hazzard, Tour of Duty.”

Childhood Dream: “I wanted to be a police officer.”

Early Fighting Memory: “Probably me getting beat up all the time when I was in high school. I finally decided to stop getting beat up and started lifting weights, training and getting in shape. I remember when this smaller kid (Tim Philbrook) picked on me when I was a senior, pushed me into the lockers. My friends said, Why don’t you just squash this kid, he’s so much smaller than you? But I had never fought before. My first NHB fight was in Open-hand Rhode Island Vale Tudo – Kip Koller’s event. This guy came at me and I ended up knocking him out in 12 seconds. Yes, it was (a big moment for me). I could get away with this and not get in trouble? (I thought to myself) I’m gonna start doing this more often.”

Favorite Meal: “Definitely Maine lobster. All Maine seafood. With a side of corn on the cob and a Mountain Dew.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Not cereal, just a five-egg omelette. I make those quite frequently.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla…no. Ben & Jerry’s Half-Baked.”

First Job: “Raking blueberries in Eastbrook, Maine (age 12).”

First Car: “1983 maroon Subaru Brat.”

Pre-Fight Feeling: “I’m usually pretty calm. Always say a prayer. I like to be around all my guys, my teammates. Relax a little, laugh a little. And go out there and do what I have to do.”

Funny Fighting Memory: “In the dressing room before a fight, with Pat (Miletich) and Tony (Frycklund). Tony’s always laughing and saying funny things. He’s got a unique laugh, really loud. Even if someone says something that’s not funny, Tony let’s out this big laugh, then it’s funny. And when I first came to Pat (Miletich) to pursue my goal of fighting in the UFC, Pat told me later on, ‘When I first saw you, I knew we had trouble. You were so big, you couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time.’ And ‘Why don’t you let your hands go and throw more strikes? You’re big enough to eat shit off the road.’”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning Super Brawl 16-man tournament in Hawaii (2002). Beat Mike Whitehead in the final by TKO. I TKO’ed all four guys in that event. I was one of the favorites at the event, three or four guys were picked to win – Cabbage (Wes Correira), Kerry “Meat Truck” Schall, and Ben Rothwell. I won the final (vs. Whitehead by) a knee to the head.”

Most Painful Moment: “Probably when Pat lost to Matt Lindland. Because Pat is so much better than that. Pat moved up in weight to fight Matt Lindland. When he had a title shot against Carlos Newton. But Pat gave the title shot to Matt Hughes. The Pat we all know could beat Matt Lindland. Or the one (Pat) lost to Newton. He was winning that one, then got caught.”

Worst Injury: “Five weeks before Hawaii, I tore my right rotator cuff in training. When I got thrown by one of the Iowa wrestlers on a night we were training together.”

Favorite Fighters To Watch: “Any one of my guys, any one of Team Miletich guys. And Vanderlei Silva. His nickname (The Axe Murderer) just fits him. He’s crazy. And he’s scary to look at. I like the way he fights. He just throws it all out on the line. Just before his fights start, he does this thing where he rotates his hands together. He’s got this evil look on his face. The Axe Murderer. Looks like he’s about to kill your family.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “I enjoyed Hawaii a lot.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Definitely honesty, integrity and a good heart.”