Former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia, can never seem to win in the court of public opinion. After defeating Mariusz Pudzianowski at Moosin: God of Martial Arts, Sylvia found himself answering to critics rather than celebrating his victory. Heading into the bout, the Miletich fighter tipped the scales at over 300 pounds. MMA message boards lit up with fans questioning the fighter’s dedication to the sport. According to Sylvia, the extra weight was all part of the plan.

“I did that on purpose. I wanted to be heavy for the fight. I wanted to be as big as he was. When we took the fight, he was 336 pounds and then he was 300 during the press conferences we were doing. He lost another 23 pounds between the press conferences and when it came to the actual fight day. I actually hit 285 during training and then I just went back to eating five times a day again. At the peak of my training, I was 285, which is pretty much what I am when I fight for the UFC, actually about 275 and then I cut 10 pounds to make the weight when I fight (at 265).”

Pudzianowski proved to be not much of a challenge. Although successful in strong man competitions, Pudzianowski’s lack of MMA skills quickly showed.

“He didn’t have the reach, and him being so muscle-bound, he couldn’t throw straight punches to begin with. We knew he was going to kick and then try to get me down to the ground. It wasn’t a good leg kick. It was just hard and powerful. He didn’t kick me where he was supposed to kick me. If you kick anybody, like the three I put on him, you want to kick on the quad. That way it takes your legs away. He kicked me in the calf. And then the next one was just below the knee and the third one I was able to check.”

After a short feeling out process, Sylvia made Pudzianowski tap to strikes at 1:43 in the second round. In typical Sylvia fashion, he proceeded to irritate fans by declaring himself “something of a legend in MMA” during his post fight interview. While he certainly shows no humility, Sylvia stands firm in his belief that he is one of the best in the sport.

“I know what I’ve done. I know no one else has been a five-time UFC heavyweight champ besides Randy (Couture). As soon as Brock (Lesnar) defends it and makes that, then he’s in that division too, but no one else is. Not even Arlovski.”

Being a fan favorite doesn’t matter to Sylvia. He knows that he has critics, but he refuses to change.

“It is what it is. I am who I am. I’ve made statements and stuff. If you hate me, I hate you. I don’t care. I don’t care if you don’t like me, to be honest with you. That’s just the way it is. I’m not going to change for anybody. I’m not going to kiss people’s butts and so on and so forth. That’s just not me. I’m from the East Coast, and that’s just the way we’re all brought up.”

Part of the public’s perception, according to Sylvia, may stem from the fact that fans typically see him during the final week of preparation for a fight. During that time, he becomes solely focused on the task at hand, which often comes across as abrasive.

“I’m drastically different. I have no patience. I’ve worked my butt off for 10 weeks to prepare myself for my opponent, and it’s constantly going through my mind. When I go to bed, when I get up, it’s all about who I’m fighting and what I have to do to win this fight. That’s when a lot of the fans, they’ll come in to the show and they’ll see this standoffish guy who’s set on beating the guy in front of me.”

Whether he’s being booed or not, Sylvia continues his quest for bigger fights. After putting a couple of more wins together, he hopes to reintroduce himself to the masses.

“I’d like to think (by) 2011. I’d like to be with Strikeforce or UFC.”

(Source: Sherdog)