5 UFC heavyweights who were more skilled than their physique suggested

#2. Tim Sylvia – former UFC heavyweight champion

Tim Sylvia admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in an attempt to improve his physique

Plenty of UFC fighters over the years have found themselves in hot water for their use of banned substances, even reigning champions. Many of them have come out with reasons for this, with excuses ranging from tainted supplements to niggling injuries.

However, when then-UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after UFC 44, resulting in him being stripped of his title, he was surprisingly frank.

‘The Maine-iac’ candidly admitted that he’d taken the banned substance not to help him inside the octagon, but to attempt to transform a less-than-impressive physique into something more marketable to the fans.

It was almost hard to argue with Sylvia’s logic. While he clearly didn’t need help to defeat his opponents – at the time, he was 16-0 with three knockout wins in the UFC – it was an understatement to say that he didn’t exactly look like a bodybuilder.

‘The Maine-iac’ was slapped with a six-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the infraction. While he did appear to slim down greatly during his second run as UFC heavyweight champion from 2006 to 2007, he never did sport the ripped physique he once craved.

Not that it mattered, he was still one of the most effective heavyweights of his era and was far more skilled than his physique suggested, having no issue in fighting over five rounds and rarely tiring out.

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#1. Cain Velasquez – former UFC heavyweight champion

Despite his physique, Cain Velasquez may still be the UFC's greatest-ever heavyweight

When it comes to heavyweights with amazing cardio, one name stands out above all the rest in the UFC, former heavyweight kingpin Cain Velasquez.

The former Division I All-American wrestler with Arizona State was renowned for his endless gas tank. Many of his peers marveled over his technical ability even before he entered the UFC in 2008. When he debuted, though, fans who’d heard about his reputation but had never actually seen his fights might’ve been surprised.

Not only was Velasquez a smaller heavyweight, usually weighing in at around 240 pounds, but he hardly boasted an impressive physique, looking more like an average gym-goer looking to lose weight than a professional athlete.

However, inside the octagon, all of the reports from his peers proved to be true. Not only was Velasquez capable of pushing a pace torrid enough to make the majority of his opponents wilt, he was also a remarkably technical fighter, both standing and in his grappling.

It came as no surprise to see him routinely smash larger opponents like Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell and it was also no shock to see him dethrone the hulking Brock Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight title in 2010.

While various injuries would mount up for him, preventing him from really fulfilling all of his early promise, Velasquez remains perhaps the most skilled heavyweight fighter in UFC history, a fact that completely belied his less than impressive physique.