Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia has been rallying on the independent scene ever since he was cut from the company after a submission loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in January 2008.

He has composed a respectable 7-4-1 record since then, though he has come up short against every name opponent he’s encountered.

Despite that fact, as well as the reality that he is coming off a loss to Santoshi Ishii in December, “The Maine-iac” wants another shot inside the Octagon.

Speaking to MMA Weekly affiliate Knockout Radio, Sylvia named two opponents he’d love to tango with under the UFC banner.

"Frank Mir, first and foremost. You know, unfinished business man. He broke my arm and I wanted to keep fighting and they wouldn't let me, so I'm irritated."

Mir, a highly regarded black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, snapped Sylvia’s forearm with an armbar from guard at their UFC 48 encounter in June 2004.

It took Mir less than a minute to lock up the hold and won the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title for his efforts.

If UFC matchmaker Joe Silva isn’t keen on that rematch, Sylvia has a plan B in mind:

“I'd like to fight a striker so that we could put on a good show. I have a good friend, Pat Barry, who is in the UFC. I think if him and I fought it would be Fight of the Night or Knockout of the Night,” he said.

“We've had some good sparring sessions so it would be a good fight for the fans. I know he brings it and so do I, so something bad is going to happen to one of us."

While Sylvia is 3-1-1 in his past five bouts, the fact that he hasn’t scored a victory since last June certainly doesn’t bode well for his chances to return to the world’s top MMA promotion anytime soon.