Tim Sylvia and Wes Sims will fight – in Saint John, NB?!

I’m finding this hilarious. Tim Sylvia was supposed to fight Wes Sims at an Adrenaline MMA show on March 20, but the Ohio Athletic Commission killed it by deeming the bout “non-competitive.” That’s an understatement. I can’t think of a less-competitive match-up not involving Kalib Starnes or Junie Browning.

But that’s not what I find so funny. No, what makes me laugh is a story I read in the Telegraph-Journal, the first newspaper I ever worked for back in New Brunswick. Turns out that MMA is coming to Saint John, NB, and it’s bringing the Sylvia-Sims sideshow with it.

The battle of the heavyweight has-been vs. never-was will headline a ten-bout International Fighting Confederation event tentatively scheduled for June 5. Never mind that nobody wanted to see Sylvia face Sims the first time it happened, at another no-name event six years ago.

Now, I’m all for MMA coming to my hometown. I think it speaks to the sport’s exploding popularity that an MMA event would be put on in such a small community. And it’s great that the first event there has managed to land a couple of fighters with UFC experience. Hell, Sylvia was UFC heavyweight champ for a while and has lost to some of the best fighters in the game (Fedor Emelianenko, Minotauro Nogueira, Randy Couture, Frank Mir) and Sims was on The Ultimate Fighter.

But something about it has the feel of the Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling cards that used to swing through town like a traveling circus when I was a kid. I’d plunk down two bucks to see guys like Leo Burke and “Big” Stephen Petitpas smackdown with the Cuban Assassin and “Killer” Karl Krupp at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena on Tuesday nights.

Maybe it’s that the event’s promoter, Jack Livingston, is more accustomed to putting on shows featuring Aerosmith and 50 Cent than pro fighters. Maybe it’s his PT Barnum shpiel, declaring Sylvia vs. Sims “a world championship fight with these two super athletes.” A fight that a lot of people – including one very important athletic commission – has declared non-competitive.

Obviously, Livingston knows nothing about MMA and is just looking at this as an opportunity to make a buck. Speaking of which, tickets for the event range in price from $59.50 to $99.50 for cageside, which Livingstone notes is a lot more affordable than similar events in Montreal that charge upwards or $300 or more. I’m assuming he’s referring to the pricey UFC cards Montreal has hosted, although he sounds pretty ridiculous comparing his little event to anything remotely resembling the UFC.

Almost makes me wish I still lived back east so I could see what all of Livingston’s fuss is about.