James Irvin mulls move to middleweight; says Houston Alexander has been exposed (Audio)
By: MMAmania
Props: Pep Talk (Irvin comes in around the 63-minute mark)
Note that he also wants a crack at either Wanderlei Silva or Chuck Liddell in the near future.
April 8th, 2008
59 Comments »
LOL, when this guy wins, it’s impressive, problem is he only wins half the time. I like his fights though, you guys will make fun of me, but his personality is what I like. If he put a few wins in a row together, I’d watch him get thrown to the wolves (Silva…either one)
Woa! Woa! He knocks out Houston now he wants Wanderlei or Chuck? You have to crawl before you walk.
I use to think Irvin was a one trick pony, but he either really has it together or really doesn’t.
This isn’t good. He’s already showing signs of brain damage. Liddell or Silva?! Really? One well placed shot against someone who casual fans may know (Alexander) and he thinks he can stand with the big dogs? He needs wins over more reputable fighters before this can be taken for more than crazy talk.
I think this guy has sand caught between his ears. ANYONE at LHW has knockout power when givin an open chin. Let’s see him actually fight a few rounds before you call out big dogs.
“the guy’s kinda a walking punching bag.”
Irvin re: Houston Alexander.
Great interview. I never really liked Irvin until his latest fight, but I find it strange he wants no part of a Rampage fight. Shows he has a ways to go still I think.
I’ve never ever liked Irvin until this interview, he’s always cussing’ saying crude shit in the cage, fliping everyone off, acting like he’s the shit… kinda’ amusing but I thought he was a total muscle head.
Now I have a different perspective of him, he was totally candid and admitted he wasn’t use to the 1 on 1 athletic sports event coming from team sports, he was scared of Houston, couldn’t sleep at nights and he wanted no part of Rampage. He spoke his mind without shame… I respect that kind of honesty.
He’s got a really great attitude. He’s pretty shaprp and down to Earth, for sure.
He beat Alexander who beat Jardine, Jardine beat Liddel, Liddel beat Silva. Why would either of them be out of reach. I am willing to bet most of you critics are Alexander nuthuggers who cant stand to see your boys ass kicked twice and cry after both fights.
I agree with Irvin (Houston is a punching bag) and instead of Liddell or Silva how about a rematch with Thiago??? Nice
theres no way of saying if he is a real contender personally I liked this guy since his bad ass flying knee KO then think he lost to Bonnar then Kod Ramirez but that knee injury in the Silva fight is really not a win Win. it should be a future rematch.. it happened right away kinda like the Din Thomas fight just bad luck…
I wish that Sandman the pill popping irvin would get in the cage with iceman. I would love to see iceman rip his head off he shoulders. I hate sandman with every bone in my body. I really think alexander was pure pure luck and a rematch James would get his ass kicked!
You would be Nasty at Middleweight!
ViolentMIke: What do you think about Leben vs. Irving at middleweight? talk about Fireworks!!!!!!
He’s a tough guy… and a good fighter, but how about a couple more wins before he gets the big boys. If he moves to middleweight…a fight with Chris Leben would be a war.
Irvin vs Wandy vs Liddell Triple Threat Match! never gonna happen! lol
Irvin has trained with Rampage before (and Couture). Rampage has said that Irvin hits as hard or harder than anyone he’s ever faced at 205, FWIW. Irvin isn’t totally polished in all areas, but he’s extremely athletic and can put anyone to sleep if he connects.
baby steps Irvin, baby steps! You cant get in theri with Wand or Chuck jsut cuz you beat Houston! Now, if he can get past Thaigo Silva or even a Jardine or Forrest, then we can talk!!!
Do not get ahead of yourself buddy, Houston Alexander is no Wandy or Chuck. To fight the big boys you have to beat some big names first, and unfortunatly Houston Alexander is not one of them.
Like him or not Sandman almost always delivers exciting fights. He has had some bad luck lately in some of his matches but I always look forward to his fights. I have been a big fan of his from back in WEC when he destroyed Rhino Doug Marshall.
Very quick with heavy hands so he is always dangerous.
i hope he loses 3 so he gets dropped by UFC and signs with elitexc. There he can fight baroni, lawler, ssmith, hose and other brawlers of his type @ MW.
a move to MW would be crazy. he would be hugefor a Mwt it would give the div. another awesome sriker & some possible exciting matches, especially with all the sluggers in the div.
Cote ,Leben, McFeddries, just naming my fav.3 not making a list.
but if he stays at LHwt a rematch with Tiago is in order. IMO a win over Tiago would make him a top 10 LHwt. even though he called out Wanderlei & Chuck he still gave them both a lot of respect. if he got either 1 of those fights i would pay to see it.he was right to admit that he would have trouble with Chucks height and he would have a chance against Wandy IMO. Hendo & Cro-Cop proved that Silva can be KOed. i am surprised that he admitted that he wants no part of RAMPAGE, what happens when you dont want any part of the CHAMP, ask Pete Spratt.he declined a fight against Hughues now hes in the World Combat League.
awaitng moderation again, why do they mod some posts and not others???
“ViolentMIke: What do you think about Leben vs. Irving at middleweight? talk about Fireworks!!!!!!”
I think that it would of course be an entertaining fight. However, Irvin would need to get a couple of wins a MW before getting Leben. Chris Leben and Patrick Cote need to be booked for a part two at this point.
ViolentMIke: What do you think about Leben vs. Irving at middleweight? talk about Fireworks!!!!!!
LOL asks you direct, your just another guy on a forum…why not just make a statement instead of hanging off violent mikes ball sack
Actually Kevin, many people on this site that will ask a specific knowledgeable person or one of the Top Posters a question, especially when it concerns a fighter that that person likes. I am a fan of Leben, that’s why he asked. Me and John have plenty of conversations. It does not mean that someone else can’t chime in - it is actually what we are hoping for.
You are actually the very first person to complain about such a thing.
BEFORE GETTING ALL OVER IRVIN FOR “CALLING OUT WANDERLEI AND CHUCK, PLEASE LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW”. The interviewer says, if I were Joe Silva and called you up and asked you who your Top 3 dream fights are, what would they be? His dream fight would be Wanderlei because he is still a legend, and he would like to fight him before someone else KO’s him. He thinks a fight between him and Wandi would consist of the two of them standing toe to toe and banging it out for 15 minutes. Then he says that there is someone else who he is no where near the level of fighting, but he would love to fight Chuck. He would actually love to get KO’d by Chuck!
DID YOU GUYS HEAR TIM SLIVIA IS SCHEDULED TO FIGHT FEDOR EMILIENENKO ON JULY 19TH ITS ON SHERDOG.COM THE FIGHT IS COMFIRMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lets call it as it is, the guy has KO powe at 205, always puts on a show, and isn’t afraid to fight. How can you not respect that!!! At MW he’d be an almost instant contender, and at lhw he’s not gonna duck anyone (TITO)!! How can you not respect a guy who’s willing to take a risk and fight top guys at the chance of reward (winning and making a name for himself) DON’T YOU AGREE WITH ME VILOLENT MIKE???)
TIM SYLVIA TO FIGHT FEDOR ON JULY according to sherdog.com
James Irvin has a glass jaw and he’s very similar to Alexander. They both have KO power but have no chin along with no ground game. Irvin should stick to fighting cans and leave fighting top rank competition to other fighters.
100% Kevin! James Irivin always puts on exciting fights and isn’t SCARED to fight anyone. He likes to stand and bang.
However, realistically, can he be much more than a Scott Smith in the MW division? Scott was a MW with KO power and good standup skills - which are the same tools possessed by Irvin. He can provide for some exciting fights, but I do not expect him to be a contender at any weight class. Although, I would be pleasantly surprised if he did.
the thing of it is, he shouldnt really talk shit on Houston, if he would have commited to the leg kick, instead of the superman punch, it would have most likely been another one punnch KO, but only in Houstons favor…Houston was in the middle of throwing a bomb to counter the leg kick…He wasnt expecting trickery and got caught…I dont see how that exposes anyone…if he would have went toe to toe for 1 round and anialated Houston everywhere the fight went, then he would have exposed him, as of now, i see it as he “caught” him
Tim sylvia vs Fedor fight in works… could be in Dallas under HDnet fights
Good interview. I’ve always liked the sandman and cant wait to see him fight again. I say give him his match with Silva and see if he’s ready to be top 10.
FEDOR VS SYLVIA JULY 19TH! ON SHERDOG
This guy wins one fight and thinks he’s a top dog, the Houston fight could have just as easily gone the other way. Anyone at LHW has knockout power, I actually think Houston is a better fighter. REMATCH!
Deez Apr 8th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
This guy wins one fight and thinks he’s a top dog, the Houston fight could have just as easily gone the other way. Anyone at LHW has knockout power, I actually think Houston is a better fighter. REMATCH!
houston has to earn a rematch.another fight between these 2 would only help Alexander & do nothing for the Sandman other than put another KO in his win colum.
IMO he needs to beat another can to prove he can fight without getting injured.and then a rematch with TiagoSilva.
How about Couture vs. Angle on the undercard? Seeing as how it’s a circus show already…
Deez, listen to the whole interview. Irvin is pretty humble.
That was for Hector…@ Fedor vs. Timmayyyyy
“He beat Alexander who beat Jardine, Jardine beat Liddel, Liddel beat Silva. Why would either of them be out of reach. I am willing to bet most of you critics are Alexander nuthuggers who cant stand to see your boys ass kicked twice and cry after both fights.”
Mideon, your logic makes no sense, lol. Jardine just got caught of track by Houston Alexander. He didnt train properly for the fight and got rocked. That’s y he got the main event still against liddell. Jardine wins against liddell was even considered an upset. Irvin still needs to move up the ranks and take on guys like Evans or that guy that beat Houston before, before he should think about liddell or silva. he probably wouldnt make it out of the first round let alone minute against chuck or wanderla.
Midion: To your point about Irvin “…beat Alexander who beat Jardine, Jardine beat Liddel, Liddel beat Silva.
Don Frye beat Gilber Yvel who beat Kohsaka who beat Fedor. I don’t see Don Frye (in his prime) ever beating Fedor, although he did beat someone who beat someone who beat Fedor. James Irvin is not in the same class as the rest of the guys you mentioned.
mma dude: “the thing of it is, he shouldnt really talk shit on Houston, if he would have commited to the leg kick, instead of the superman punch, it would have most likely been another one punnch KO, but only in Houstons favor…Houston was in the middle of throwing a bomb to counter the leg kick…He wasnt expecting trickery and got caught…I dont see how that exposes anyone…if he would have went toe to toe for 1 round and anialated Houston everywhere the fight went, then he would have exposed him, as of now, i see it as he “caught” him”
First off, never base arguments on what might have been, or better yet, on assumptions. Houston got caught, he was KO’d, and that’s that. And yes, he was “exposed”. He is a fighter who could not beat a mid-teir LHW in the Sandman. While he packs a shitload of power, he lacks mma polish and therefore will never be a top-end fighter in the UFC.
mma dude- Houston should’ve expected the superman punch if he was prepared properly. And BTW, Houston has never stood and traded, either at a distance or in the pocket, and KOed anyone. If Houston can’t grab/clinch and punch, he’s not effective. He wasn’t going to KO Irvin.
ufc 87 sandman vs jardine?
how bout Sandman vs. Hamill…. Jardine is too big a step i reckon.
come on guys, lets not forget all his other sloppy performance that he’s had. This guy isnt a one trick pony cuz that would mean he has at least 1 skill but this guy doesnt.
His stand up is sloppy and he got lucky with a few ko’s.
“He beat Alexander who beat Jardine, Jardine beat Liddel, Liddel beat Silva. Why would either of them be out of reach. I am willing to bet most of you critics are Alexander nuthuggers who cant stand to see your boys ass kicked twice and cry after both fights.”
okay , chuck beat silva, and silva beat rampage. according to “common sense”, chuck should beat rampage right? wrong. james irvin won one fight (controversial) and thinks he deserves a shot at former champions (who dominated the division for years in their respected leagues). so i guess every body whos beaten Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (the only guy to beat fedor ever) should get a shot at fedor, just because they beat some bum that pulled a hail mary out of his ass?
give me a break…
markg, i like that match up.im gonna go with the sandman.
“ufc 87 sandman vs jardine?”
I guess you are assuming that Jardine will lose to Silvia (which I agree with). Because if Jardine wins he really needs a better opponet than Irving. The UFC needs to start matching up guys who are coming off a win with another winner. When they put a recent loser agaisn’t a winner it really screws things up.
You fault him for wanting to fight higher competition?
I think a good match up would be Sokoudjou or Bonnar, then maybe the top 5. Irvin Rocks!!! UTC Baby!!!!
i was thinking they should throw him straight back in there at like 87 because with such a short fight he doesn’t really need to wait 6-7 months to fight again… yeah he could get the loser of jardine vs wandi maybe..which would be a slugfest either way.
He would be amazing at 185, dangerous dude no matter who he fights. Also, I think he’s right. I mean it’s just my oppinion, but I now think Houston is just a walking package of power.
silva wouldnt be a bad fight for irvin
it would also be huge for building his name and shoot him in to top 10 at LHW
1 cage not ring
2 elbows to downed opponents
3 no knees to the head on the ground
4 no head kicks to downed opponents
5 No roids
seriously changes a fight
silvas offense is seriously undermined because of 3 4 and 5
a lot of these other guys have better stand up and better wrestling and elbows on the floor to someone who cuts as badly as silcva due to the bareknuckle scar tissue mean that wanderlei is probably seen as a relatively easy guy to build your name against
a win over silva is still huge, almost as big as a win over chuck would be and on paper i would have to say that for a similar level of respect the silva fight should be way more appealing as chuck is a very dangerous fighter
irvin does look a little undersized at 205 and a shift to MW could be real smart
he be top 10 straight away (struggling to name 10 MW fighters in ufc they all seem to be running scared to 170 away from the spider)
Why would he avoid the stand up with rampage? did he trained with him or something? has anyone a source?
there’s a video on youtube with the two sparring (Rampage and Irvin).
If irving is a real man, then take a rematch to prove it was not a lucky punch. I will bet houston will make sure knock him out. I think the ufc should make them fight again. They must return credibility to the fans. Because the referee stop the fight to fast.