Brendan Schaub believes former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia could pose problems for Francis Ngannou.
Dream fights are a common conversation for MMA fans and pundits. Matchups such as Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre and Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko are still discussed today. While they never did, and never could happen, it’s still fun to dream.
It appears that fighter-turned-podcaster Brendan Schaub believes that there’s a man who could be fun in today’s heavyweight division. That man is former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia.
‘The Maine-iac’ is one of the older UFC stars that isn’t discussed today. In his prime, Sylvia was a tough out for any fighter in the heavyweight division due to his large frame. Throughout his career, he captured wins over names such as Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez, and Ben Rothwell.
As he said on his YouTube channel, Schaub believes Sylvia would be a great fighter today. In fact, the podcaster stated that the former champion would be a monster matchup for UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.
Furthermore, the former UFC heavyweight stated that he would pick the former two-time champion over both men.
“To me, Tim Sylvia has to be one of the scariest guys to ever compete in UFC,” Schaub said. “6-foot-7, good footwork … Even Tim Sylvia now, if you think about the champion of the UFC now in Francis or you think about Ciryl Gane, I mean, I would put a prime Tim Sylvia against any of them.” (h/t MSN)
He continued, “Ridiculous wrestling, couldn’t take him down. He’s a monster. I was watching his highlights the other day like a weirdo and I was like, ‘This guy in his prime could compete right now.’ You look at the champs now, man, Tim Sylvia could give Francis and Ciryl Gane some problems. He was such a savage.”
Sadly for Brendan Schaub, Tim Sylvia has been retired from MMA since 2015. Luckily, Francis Ngannou is expected to return next year, for a title defense against the winner of a rumored interim bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
Do you agree with Brendan Schaub? Who do you want to see Francis Ngannou fight next? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!