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#4 Tim Sylvia’s arm goes snap
When a fight between Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir was put together to decide a new UFC Heavyweight champion back in 2004, it sounded like a classic striker vs. grappler fight. Essentially, if the fight stayed standing, it favoured Sylvia, and if it hit the mat, it favoured Mir.
It came as a shock to everyone then when in the opening seconds of the fight, Sylvia charged forward – and tackled Mir directly to the ground. The camera angle couldn’t quite tell whether Mir had pulled guard or been taken down, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
Within seconds of the fight hitting the ground, Mir had secured an armbar on Sylvia’s right arm. A giant of a man at 6’8” and 265lbs, Sylvia decided to attempt to lift Mir up to slam his way out of the hold, but it proved to be a huge mistake.
As Sylvia stood, Mir applied more pressure on the arm, and in a shocking moment, the Maine-iac’s arm gave way, snapping at the radius bone about three inches below the elbow. Referee Herb Dean spotted the break and immediately stopped the fight, but somehow things got even stranger.
Sylvia tried to claim that he wasn’t injured and that he was willing to continue, and even the crowd seemed furious with the decision. That was until a slow-motion replay was shown on the big screen – and the disgusting visual of Sylvia’s arm cleanly snapping was shown.
Dean had thankfully made the correct call – Sylvia said so himself months later – and it would be another seven months before we’d see a recovered Maine-iac inside the Octagon again.
