jkdberlin
21-10-2003, 08:29
Interview of the Week: Tim Sylvia
Tim Sylvia dropped a bombshell on the MMA world on October 7th by
sending out a announcement admitting that he had failed a drug test
requested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after his recent
title defense bout with Gan McGee. Just two days after this
bombshell, Tim was gracious enough to come on SoundOff Radio with
Ryan Bennett and discuss the situation. With no further ado, here is
what Tim had to say.
Ryan Bennett: Welcome Tim Sylvia. I would ask you how you're doing,
but obviously you have to be upset....you've got to be a little
frustrated right now. Take me through what you're feeling right now.
Tim Sylvia: Well, first of all Ryan, I'd like to take this time to
apologize to all my fans, to the UFC, the NSAC, of course, to my
family and friends, and team. All these people I've mentioned have
stood beside me. Yeah, it's kind of shi**y what's going on right
now, but it's no one's fault but my own. Hopefully, everyone will
stick with me and I'll come back.
Ryan: You know Tim, everyone's going to ask, "Why did you do it?"
Tim: It's the most stupid decision I've made in my life so far, I
believe. After I fought Ricco, I knew I had a long lay off. I
thought I'd take advantage of the situation and look a little
better. I mean, when you see me on TV, I've got to get the six-pack
abs, you know.
Guys like Bob Sapp just kill me. I don't think he can fight very
good, but he looks amazing! You don't see anybody look as good as he
does. He's making a lot of money. I just thought, if I look better,
maybe better things would come.
Ryan: So this had nothing to do with fighting, it's basically your
marketability?
Tim: Yeah. It didn't help my fighting at all, I don't believe. I
knock people, that's what I do. That's what I love to do. The way I
fight, I stand up to fight with people.
Ryan: People want to know exactly when you started and when you
stopped.
Tim: I started shortly after I fought Ricco and I stopped long, long
before I fought Gan.
Ryan: Was this the first time that you've done this in your fight
career?
Tim: Yeah. It was stupid. I wish I could go back and do it all over
again. But this is my life, we make mistakes as humans and we learn
from them.
Ryan: Take us through what's going on now. Obviously, October 15th
is the big day. But what are you hearing? What are the different
options that will be weighing on you on October 15th?
Tim: All I really know is that there are three different things that
could happen. I could get fined, I could face a suspension, and I
could be stripped of the [UFC Heavyweight Title] belt, possibly.
Ryan: What do you think is going to happen?
Tim: I'm thinking the worst, that way if anything good comes out of
it, I'll be fortunate. So, I'm thinking all three.
Ryan: We saw what happened with Josh Barnett and his suspension, do
you feel that your situation is different from his and, if so, how?
Tim: I believe it's different, definitely. I passed the test when I
beat Ricco. I won the belt without being on drugs and, therefore, I
don't think I should be stripped; suspend me, fine me, whatever. I
won it fair and square and what I used was to make my body look
better. I was well off before I fought Gan. It had no affect on me.
Ryan: What about all the talk on the message boards on the internet?
How do you handle that?
Tim: I don't even have internet. I don't even deal with that.
Ryan: Some people are going to say, "How do we know that he hasn't
taken it before?" How do you address that?
Tim: I've been tested several times in my fight career and I passed.
Hopefully, if you just look at me, look at my body, you can tell
that I never used. You know? Because I think you can tell when I guy
uses just by looking at him.
Ryan: Everybody feels that some guys are using it and some guys
aren't. If you were to give a percentage of fighters that use
steroids, how many fighters do you think out there are using?
Tim: I really... I don't want to bring anybody else into this. This
is all my screw up and if anyone else wants to admit to using, they
can. There's other guys out there that do. I was the one that got
caught and I have to live with it.
Ryan: We're going to ask some of the questions from the fans now.
What alternatives do you have if you are suspended from competition
in the United States? If it is a year, would you try to find
somewhere else to fight outside the United States? What would you do
in that situation?
Tim: If I get suspended, I would just continue training. I'm
training right now. I'd just keeping working on my technique and
when I come back, it's trouble. I'm not going to go anywhere else
and fight, I think that would be disrespectful to the UFC. I'm going
to [take] my punishment and ride it out. Like I said, I screwed up,
therefore I need to deal with the consequences.
Ryan: From the SoundOff forum: they want to know if you can comment
on just what banned substance you took?
Tim: I really don't want to get into that. I've admitted that I did
it. I don't think it really matters what I took.
Ryan: The Phantom wants to know if that if you hadn't been caught,
would you still be doing these things?
Tim: No. Doing it, I realizes that nothing really takes the place of
hard work. I worked my ass off for this fight and I'm not sure how
much [the drugs] really helped my physique. It's really not
necessary. I'm happy with the way my body is going now. I'm keeping
with my diet now and that works. No, I don't think I would have
continued doing that. It's just something that I experimented with.
Ryan: You mentioned it, you know there's going to be a lot of people
disappointed. I think everyone is disappointed in the situation. Did
you weigh those options? You knew you could get caught. Was it just
a matter of you thought that if you do it for just a month, maybe
you could get away with it and not get caught?
Tim: That's a really good question Ryan. You know, I really didn't
weigh those options. I just talked with some people and they said
give it a try for a month and see if you like it and I did. It
really wasn't... it's not the miracle drug that I thought it was. It
didn't benefit me as well as I thought it was going to benefit. It's
nothing I would have done again and it's nothing I will ever do
again. I really didn't... weigh all the consequences.
Ryan: Now you see the backlash that's come about. October 15th is
right around the corner, how nervous are you for this hearing?
Tim: I'm thinking the worst. I'm just hoping that maybe I get to
keep the belt.
Ryan: Do you feel that you should keep the belt?
Tim: Yes, I think I should because I earned it when I fought Ricco.
Ryan: Do you feel that you should be suspended then? If they weigh
it the way that you think they should, what do you say?
Tim: Yeah, I guess. I really don't know how the NSAC works. I don't
know what they're going to do. I came out with it, I let everybody
know that's what happened, I used it. I apologize to everybody. They
took a percentage of my purse already. They do that in Nevada for
drug testing and stuff when you come back negative they send it
back, if not, they keep it. Obviously they're going to keep that,
I'm assuming.
Ryan: You see the heavyweight division, you see what's going on.
Now, this is pure speculation, but would it bother you if a guy like
Ricco were to come back and you would have to go through him again
to get your title back?
Tim: If they take the belt, I don't care who's got it. I will come
back and I will get it back.
Ryan: This is one of the questions that I read off the SoundOff
forum just a moment ago, they want to know if you took the banned
substance just to defeat Gan McGee?
Tim: No, not at all. Like I said, I did it for my physique. I just
wanted to look better. Me punching Gan had nothing to do with the
banned substance. He lifted his chin and got hit with a big right.
It had nothing to do with what I used.
Ryan: I know you really don't want to get into who's taking a banned
substance and who's not, but Josh Barnett went through it and now
you go through it, is it a problem in mixed martial arts that
fighters are taking banned substances?
Tim: I don't think it's a problem, Ryan. It's just the training that
we go through is really hard on the body. A lot of guys use
different things. I think Josh used something different than I did,
probably for certain injuries or something. You need to heal up from
those injuries so you can keep training hard. There's guys out there
that use and there's guys that get caught and there's guys that
don't get caught.
Ryan: When you say there are guys that don't get caught, do they
know how to beat the system? Is that why it's not coming up in
tests?
Tim: I really don't know. I don't know how the test works. I can't
elaborate on that, I have no idea.
Ryan: Tim Sylvia joining us on MMAWeekly Radio right now. Tim,
what's the toughest part of what you're going through right now?
Tim: One of the toughest parts was to talk to Dana White. We've been
really close and I just feel that I let him down and let the UFC
down. Talking to my team. When I found out, just me talking to my
team. I sat everybody down and let them know what was going on and I
broke down a little bit. I'm really afraid that I let them all down
and the hard work that they put in me and stuff. They were really
supportive.
Ryan: If you're suspended for a long time, do you think the UFC
should come up with and interim belt?
Tim: That's a good question. I hadn't even thought of that. I don't
know how long the suspension will be, if it happens. Maybe the UFC
should build up some contenders. A lot of people are wondering if
Frank Mir is a legit number one contender. Maybe they can build
things up and make a really solid number one contender.
Ryan: You knew this was coming, Mongo wants to know if there is a
problem in the camp [Miletich Fighting Systems] with banned
substances?
Tim: No. Absolutely not. This is something I did on my own, it has
nothing to do with the team.
Ryan: Alright Tim, I don't know anybody who has the guts to come on
the radio and take questions for half an hour and you did. Thanks
for that.
Tim: Give me a call on the seventeenth and I'll let you know how it
went.
Ryan: Okay, buddy. I hope everything works out and take care.
Tim: Thanks, Ryan.
----------------------------------------
Quelle: ultimatefightingcroatia
Grüsse
Tim Sylvia dropped a bombshell on the MMA world on October 7th by
sending out a announcement admitting that he had failed a drug test
requested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after his recent
title defense bout with Gan McGee. Just two days after this
bombshell, Tim was gracious enough to come on SoundOff Radio with
Ryan Bennett and discuss the situation. With no further ado, here is
what Tim had to say.
Ryan Bennett: Welcome Tim Sylvia. I would ask you how you're doing,
but obviously you have to be upset....you've got to be a little
frustrated right now. Take me through what you're feeling right now.
Tim Sylvia: Well, first of all Ryan, I'd like to take this time to
apologize to all my fans, to the UFC, the NSAC, of course, to my
family and friends, and team. All these people I've mentioned have
stood beside me. Yeah, it's kind of shi**y what's going on right
now, but it's no one's fault but my own. Hopefully, everyone will
stick with me and I'll come back.
Ryan: You know Tim, everyone's going to ask, "Why did you do it?"
Tim: It's the most stupid decision I've made in my life so far, I
believe. After I fought Ricco, I knew I had a long lay off. I
thought I'd take advantage of the situation and look a little
better. I mean, when you see me on TV, I've got to get the six-pack
abs, you know.
Guys like Bob Sapp just kill me. I don't think he can fight very
good, but he looks amazing! You don't see anybody look as good as he
does. He's making a lot of money. I just thought, if I look better,
maybe better things would come.
Ryan: So this had nothing to do with fighting, it's basically your
marketability?
Tim: Yeah. It didn't help my fighting at all, I don't believe. I
knock people, that's what I do. That's what I love to do. The way I
fight, I stand up to fight with people.
Ryan: People want to know exactly when you started and when you
stopped.
Tim: I started shortly after I fought Ricco and I stopped long, long
before I fought Gan.
Ryan: Was this the first time that you've done this in your fight
career?
Tim: Yeah. It was stupid. I wish I could go back and do it all over
again. But this is my life, we make mistakes as humans and we learn
from them.
Ryan: Take us through what's going on now. Obviously, October 15th
is the big day. But what are you hearing? What are the different
options that will be weighing on you on October 15th?
Tim: All I really know is that there are three different things that
could happen. I could get fined, I could face a suspension, and I
could be stripped of the [UFC Heavyweight Title] belt, possibly.
Ryan: What do you think is going to happen?
Tim: I'm thinking the worst, that way if anything good comes out of
it, I'll be fortunate. So, I'm thinking all three.
Ryan: We saw what happened with Josh Barnett and his suspension, do
you feel that your situation is different from his and, if so, how?
Tim: I believe it's different, definitely. I passed the test when I
beat Ricco. I won the belt without being on drugs and, therefore, I
don't think I should be stripped; suspend me, fine me, whatever. I
won it fair and square and what I used was to make my body look
better. I was well off before I fought Gan. It had no affect on me.
Ryan: What about all the talk on the message boards on the internet?
How do you handle that?
Tim: I don't even have internet. I don't even deal with that.
Ryan: Some people are going to say, "How do we know that he hasn't
taken it before?" How do you address that?
Tim: I've been tested several times in my fight career and I passed.
Hopefully, if you just look at me, look at my body, you can tell
that I never used. You know? Because I think you can tell when I guy
uses just by looking at him.
Ryan: Everybody feels that some guys are using it and some guys
aren't. If you were to give a percentage of fighters that use
steroids, how many fighters do you think out there are using?
Tim: I really... I don't want to bring anybody else into this. This
is all my screw up and if anyone else wants to admit to using, they
can. There's other guys out there that do. I was the one that got
caught and I have to live with it.
Ryan: We're going to ask some of the questions from the fans now.
What alternatives do you have if you are suspended from competition
in the United States? If it is a year, would you try to find
somewhere else to fight outside the United States? What would you do
in that situation?
Tim: If I get suspended, I would just continue training. I'm
training right now. I'd just keeping working on my technique and
when I come back, it's trouble. I'm not going to go anywhere else
and fight, I think that would be disrespectful to the UFC. I'm going
to [take] my punishment and ride it out. Like I said, I screwed up,
therefore I need to deal with the consequences.
Ryan: From the SoundOff forum: they want to know if you can comment
on just what banned substance you took?
Tim: I really don't want to get into that. I've admitted that I did
it. I don't think it really matters what I took.
Ryan: The Phantom wants to know if that if you hadn't been caught,
would you still be doing these things?
Tim: No. Doing it, I realizes that nothing really takes the place of
hard work. I worked my ass off for this fight and I'm not sure how
much [the drugs] really helped my physique. It's really not
necessary. I'm happy with the way my body is going now. I'm keeping
with my diet now and that works. No, I don't think I would have
continued doing that. It's just something that I experimented with.
Ryan: You mentioned it, you know there's going to be a lot of people
disappointed. I think everyone is disappointed in the situation. Did
you weigh those options? You knew you could get caught. Was it just
a matter of you thought that if you do it for just a month, maybe
you could get away with it and not get caught?
Tim: That's a really good question Ryan. You know, I really didn't
weigh those options. I just talked with some people and they said
give it a try for a month and see if you like it and I did. It
really wasn't... it's not the miracle drug that I thought it was. It
didn't benefit me as well as I thought it was going to benefit. It's
nothing I would have done again and it's nothing I will ever do
again. I really didn't... weigh all the consequences.
Ryan: Now you see the backlash that's come about. October 15th is
right around the corner, how nervous are you for this hearing?
Tim: I'm thinking the worst. I'm just hoping that maybe I get to
keep the belt.
Ryan: Do you feel that you should keep the belt?
Tim: Yes, I think I should because I earned it when I fought Ricco.
Ryan: Do you feel that you should be suspended then? If they weigh
it the way that you think they should, what do you say?
Tim: Yeah, I guess. I really don't know how the NSAC works. I don't
know what they're going to do. I came out with it, I let everybody
know that's what happened, I used it. I apologize to everybody. They
took a percentage of my purse already. They do that in Nevada for
drug testing and stuff when you come back negative they send it
back, if not, they keep it. Obviously they're going to keep that,
I'm assuming.
Ryan: You see the heavyweight division, you see what's going on.
Now, this is pure speculation, but would it bother you if a guy like
Ricco were to come back and you would have to go through him again
to get your title back?
Tim: If they take the belt, I don't care who's got it. I will come
back and I will get it back.
Ryan: This is one of the questions that I read off the SoundOff
forum just a moment ago, they want to know if you took the banned
substance just to defeat Gan McGee?
Tim: No, not at all. Like I said, I did it for my physique. I just
wanted to look better. Me punching Gan had nothing to do with the
banned substance. He lifted his chin and got hit with a big right.
It had nothing to do with what I used.
Ryan: I know you really don't want to get into who's taking a banned
substance and who's not, but Josh Barnett went through it and now
you go through it, is it a problem in mixed martial arts that
fighters are taking banned substances?
Tim: I don't think it's a problem, Ryan. It's just the training that
we go through is really hard on the body. A lot of guys use
different things. I think Josh used something different than I did,
probably for certain injuries or something. You need to heal up from
those injuries so you can keep training hard. There's guys out there
that use and there's guys that get caught and there's guys that
don't get caught.
Ryan: When you say there are guys that don't get caught, do they
know how to beat the system? Is that why it's not coming up in
tests?
Tim: I really don't know. I don't know how the test works. I can't
elaborate on that, I have no idea.
Ryan: Tim Sylvia joining us on MMAWeekly Radio right now. Tim,
what's the toughest part of what you're going through right now?
Tim: One of the toughest parts was to talk to Dana White. We've been
really close and I just feel that I let him down and let the UFC
down. Talking to my team. When I found out, just me talking to my
team. I sat everybody down and let them know what was going on and I
broke down a little bit. I'm really afraid that I let them all down
and the hard work that they put in me and stuff. They were really
supportive.
Ryan: If you're suspended for a long time, do you think the UFC
should come up with and interim belt?
Tim: That's a good question. I hadn't even thought of that. I don't
know how long the suspension will be, if it happens. Maybe the UFC
should build up some contenders. A lot of people are wondering if
Frank Mir is a legit number one contender. Maybe they can build
things up and make a really solid number one contender.
Ryan: You knew this was coming, Mongo wants to know if there is a
problem in the camp [Miletich Fighting Systems] with banned
substances?
Tim: No. Absolutely not. This is something I did on my own, it has
nothing to do with the team.
Ryan: Alright Tim, I don't know anybody who has the guts to come on
the radio and take questions for half an hour and you did. Thanks
for that.
Tim: Give me a call on the seventeenth and I'll let you know how it
went.
Ryan: Okay, buddy. I hope everything works out and take care.
Tim: Thanks, Ryan.
----------------------------------------
Quelle: ultimatefightingcroatia
Grüsse