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Tim Sylvia to Face Ray Mercer Under Unified MMA Rules

By Wayne Squibbs
Mixed Martial Arts Betting and Odds
March 4, 2009

Monte Cox of Adrenaline is in talks to put former two time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia against former World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Ray Mercer. This is tipped to be the main event of an Adrenaline MMA fight card set for May 30 in Atlantic City, NJ.

This fight would be 46 year old retired boxer Mercer's second MMA fight, although he's also been in two kickboxing matches: in 2004, he took part in a K-1 fight against Musashi. Mercer was knocked down in the first round, but went on to last the distance. He lost via unanimous decision.

A year later he faced Remy Bonjasky, who executed just one move - a high-kick. The impact to Mercer's head flattened the retired boxer and ended the fight.

Mercer's first MMA experience was against Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson at Cage Fury Fighting Championship, June 2007.

Mercer's performance against Kimbo Slice very much highlighted a cage-fighter's need for casual intimacy with elbows, knees, sprawling, clinching, defending against the Muay Thai clinch, groundwork, and submission defense. In contrast to his bomb-throwing image, Slice exhibited all round skills. Mercer exhibited a one-dimensional game. After a torrid one minute and ten seconds, Mercer tapped out to a guillotine choke.

For the two time former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia, the proposed match against Mercer would be his first fight since losing to Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction Banned, where he was in contention for the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) heavyweight championship of the world.It seems quite a drop, to be fighting possibly the best pound for pound MMA fighter in the world one minute, to signing to take place in an exhibition match against a retired boxer with bad losses the next.

That said, Sylvia rarely takes things to the mat, and may well look to trade bombs in the relative guarantee of a standing-only match. Against Sylvia, the only real difference between boxing and MMA, for Mercer here, could be the size of his gloves. Given that Mercer can knock a man senseless through the inch-plus padding of a regular boxing glove, Sylvia better be careful where he puts his head.

This match up might not produce a stellar display of MMA skills, but it certainly has the watchability factor.

A bigger question than over who might win this though has to be what benefit this match could bring to Tim Sylvia's career. A win here could mean very little, whereas a loss could prove devastating. With Sylvia taking a payday like this, one has to wonder if his future plans include contender-level MMA fights, or if he's considering other options.