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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
With Todd Duffee stepping up to face Alistair Overeem in Japan on New Year's Eve, Titan Fighting Championship has replaced him in a scheduled bout against Abe Wagner on Friday, January 28.
The organization today announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia has been tapped as that replacement, and he'll meet Wagner in the main event of the fight card in Kansas City, which will air live on HDNet.
This event is the debut for TFC on HDNet, and takes place from the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City. While Titan wanted Duffee for the card, the promotion's CEO Joe Kelly stated they understood the importance of the Overeem fight to the 25 year old heavyweight.
"Titan is a fighter-friendly organization. We treat the athletes that work with us like people and not commodities," Kelly stated. "While we were excited to have Todd be a part of our HDNet debut, we also realize how important the Overeem fight was for him at this stage of his career. I have a long-standing friendship with Todd's manager, Monte Cox, and Titan's burgeoning relationship with HDNet is also very important. We didn't want to stand in the way of this great fight happening on New Year's Eve with everyone in the States also being able to watch on HDNet."
Tim Sylvia continues his recent nomadic run of fighting, appearing in his seventh different fight promotion in eight fights. He's found success recently, however, winning four straight fights entering this event.
"Tim is a two-time former UFC heavyweight champion and has headlined some of the biggest MMA shows in the history of the sport," said Kelly. "We're very fortunate to be able to add him to Titan FC 16 on such short notice. By letting Todd take the fight vs. Overeem, we are allowing ourselves to get to work with Tim on our Jan. 28 show and then still get to book Todd on a future show."
Wagner, an 8-2 professional who appeared on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, picked up his first win since the show in November when he scored a first round TKO win over Vinny Pallone.
Penick's Analysis: This is another fight Sylvia should win outside of the major organization's, and with it airing live on HDNet, Sylvia could work his way back to a major organization for the first time since losing to Fedor Emelianenko on the first Affliction show in 2008. The former champion has been toiling in relative obscurity on these smaller shows, but in winning four straight, and if he moves it to five straight, he'd be a good addition to Strikeforce or the UFC, as he can still be a challenge to prospective heavyweight talent.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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