It’s been 15 years since Sylvia stepped foot inside the UFC octagon. The former heavyweight champion was a promotional staple throughout the 2000s and until Stipe Miocic came along in 2016 he had the most title defenses in divisional history.
Surpassing Miocic and taking the heavyweight torch from the proud Ohioan was Cameroon’s Ngannou. “The Predator” is historically the most devastating puncher in the history of mankind, which led him to the UFC title in his March 2021 rematch with Miocic. Ngannou defended the title once against Ciryl Ganevia a unanimous decision before parting ways with the UFC earlier this year. Despite Ngannou’s great success and improvements since his first Miocic fight — a January 2018 unanimous decision loss — Sylvia hasn’t been impressed by the arguable best heavyweight on the planet.
“I don’t think Francis is that good,” Sylvia told Submission Radio. “He’s a monster with heavy hands but his punches come from his hips and he swings wild and crazy. He hits you, you’re going to sleep but a technical fighter like [Jon] Jones and Stipe, they beat him again.
“You saw what he did to Gane. He wouldn’t even stand up with him. He took him down. It was an ugly fight. He talks a lot for only winning a fight then defending against Ciryl Gane.
“I’d destroy him in my prime,” he continued. “If we fought right now he beats me but in my prime, if we could go back in time and I’m in my prime, he’s in his prime, I destroy him. He’s too wild. I was more of a technical striker than he is.
Sylvia, 47, and Ngannou, 36, share another thing in common aside from their statuses as former UFC heavyweight champions. Ideally, both men have admitted they would have liked to stay with and end their careers in the UFC. Unfortunately for them, fighting for their rights — whether in overall athletic freedoms or financials — resulted in early exits.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Sylvia said of UFC fighter pay still being a hot topic. “I know the organization and the people running it and they’re greedy and they just don’t care.”
After Sylvia’s “Fight of the Night” bonus-earning performance against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, things went south thanks to the arrival of Brock Lesnar in the promotion. The UFC newcomer instantly entered the UFC on a 350/350 ($350,000 to show, $350,000 to win) contract that included pay-per-view points, superseding the two-time champion Sylvia’s 100/100 without pay-per-view points.
