I think Tim The Lame-iac Sylvia is lame. Why? This loss to Nogueira is a prime example of why Sylvia is lame.  He could possibly have the heavyweight belt all to himself to parade around on his scooter and M-16 in remote areas of Midwest while listening to snappy honky-tonk country songs. Like in his numerous prior outings in UFC he was fighting a hurt fighter and couldn't not finish him no matter what. It was like that against and injured and hurt Arlovski, against a hurt Vera and again last night against a hurt Nogueira. Only this time it was Sylvia who hurt Nogueira, so it should have been painfully obvious to him that he should just go in for the kill instead of just flailing his arms. He has the size and physical attributes that he needs to hurt people standing and thwart most takedown attempts to keep it standing. What he doesn't have and may never will is killer instinct and aggression to go out there and finish fights without being afraid of getting banged up a little in the process. That's why he is lame.

As soon as the fight started it was very obvious that Sylvia had the reach and size advantage over Nogueira. In the begining of the first round both fighters did some light striking with Sylvia getting more in. Nogueira tried a half hearted attempt at a takedown and pulled guard, which moments later Sylvia just stood out of. Some where mid first round, Sylvia slipped to the left and landed a left hook and right cross combination right on Nogueira's chin sending him down to the mat. Sylvia pounced on Nogueira, landing in his guard to try to finish the rocked Nogueira, but couldn't and eventually stood out of the guard again. While standing, Sylvia failed to land any significant punches again and Nogueira actually managed to finish a single leg takedown and landing in the side mount only to have the round end.

Getting the takedown in the first round probably gave Nogueira some confidence in his ability to take Sylvia down again, but in the second round he didn't manage take Sylvia down at all. Sylvia though continued to land shots throughout the round. In the third round Nogueira gain shot for a takedown and instead of pushing through, he rolled under Sylvia and pulling a half guard. From there he was able to reach under Sylvia's other leg and managed to sweep him. He immediately passed guard to sidemount and moments later went for a step over armbar. Sylvia rolled to his knees and Nogueira switched to an arm in guillotine choke. Sylvia quickly tapped.

Nogueira took a lot of punishment but found a way to win after being nearly out. He is one of the most resilient fighters out there. I was very happy for him and his win, but I'm really starting to doubt his longevity in the sport. I hope these last two fights were just a streak of bad luck and he won't be nearly out again in his next championship defense. Will his recent performances draw out Couture for one more fight?  Or is Mir next in line? Both would be good fights.

What's next for Sylvia? Fight with Mir or winner of Kongo vs Herring?