UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (21-4) will take a temporary leave of absence from the division he has all but cleared out and move up to light heavyweight to challenge James Irvin (14-4) during the main event at the newly-minted UFC Fight Night 14 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 19.
Win or lose the “Spider” will retain his middleweight crown and likely still defend it in the near future, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.
It’s an interesting twist to say the least, considering Silva had been recently linked to a blockbuster bout with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. That’s a showdown that can still happen; however, for now the “Sandman” gets the unenviable task of taking on Silva.
Irvin rebounded from an injury-riddled and bizarre 2007 fight campaign, during which he blew out his knee in a loss to Thiago Silva and was knocked silly courtesy of an errant Luis Arthur Cane knee that resulted in a disqualification win, to knockout Houston Alexander in record time at UFC Fight Night 13 this April.
He was supposed to take on Rashad Evans at UFC 85: “Bedlam” earlier this month; however, he had to withdraw because he broke several toes while training for the bout. Irvin boasts a 4-3 record inside the Octagon.
Silva, on the other hand, has stopped every single fighter put in front of him since his UFC debut in 2006, including Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (twice), Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson. It’s a ridiculous hit list to say the least.
There’s really only one man in the division remaining, Yushin Okami, who he has not defended against and has worked his way toward a title shot. In fact, Okami holds a controversial win over the Brazilian from back in 2006.
Perhaps that will happen sometime soon … just not next.
In addition to the main event between Silva and Irvin, the UFC is working overtime to put together a card in five weeks that will get people to tune in to Spike TV.
Here’s the latest we have so far:
Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin
Frank Edgar vs. Hermes Franca (moved from UFC 87)
Cain Velasquez vs. TBA
Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns
Stay tuned for more details, including whether or not Brandon Vera will still co headline the card as previously mentioned. These fight announcements should come fast and furious.
The previously announced Ultimate Fight Night 14 on September 17 from Omaha, Nebraska, on September 17 will likely be renamed to UFC Fight Night 15.
122 Comments »
keep an eye out for Brandon Vera vs. Thiago silva or Luis Cane.
Matt Hamill could be on this card, and I am very glad to see Edgar vs. Franca
I like it! Irving vs. Silva should equal some nice Muy Tai.
Irving is a very dangerous dude, but he cant possibly pose a threat to the spider could he? I am just worried cause I have never seen Silva compete at 205 lbs. Lets be honest, Irving has that 1 punch Ko ability that can KO anyone! silva has never been Ko’ed…this is interesting.
I am happy to see Franca vs. Edgar, but I doubt Franca will loose that fight. He is a pretty big lightweight. I say Edgar is in trouble!
Why not leave Vera at Heavyweight and have him face Vasquez, who is looking for an opponent?
This is a great event, but Dana is wrong if he thinks this free event will stop me from purchasing Affliction! Thats just not going to happen, but I will happy to DVR this event.
like i said before thanks to affliction if it where not for them we would not get this free card, of course i am still watching the afflicition card but this one will be good too, i think they shjould leave vera at h.w. since they are a little thin there and he really has not taken a bad beating where he should drop down yet.silva vs irving is not the lhw match up i would put silva in not alot to gain if he beats irving no big deal he should have but if he loses that might be the end of his lwh career and might affect his pfp ranking, i think he would be better off only fighting at lhw a couple of times and do it against some of the top guys and keep the m.w. career going.
keep his m.w. career going who else does he have left to fight…i think henderson could beat him in a rematch hendo just looked off that night…but besides hendo who does he have to keep his m.w. career goin
Silva is going to OWN James Irvin. Irvin is strictly a stand up fighter. Who has the best stand up in the world right now? Anderson Silva.
Curious to see how big of a favorite Anderson will be since it is his first fight at LHW? I can’t see him being any lower than -400. -600 is more likely.
Silva is going to HURT Irvin.
Rampage on the 5th and Anderson on the 19th. Looks like the smart better will be making some free money in July!
July = 1 hell of a PayDay! Thank you mma!
I’m interested to see how silva will do at lhw, and I think irvin is a good test to see where he stands. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for Irvin, so it should be a great fight!
Irving is a dangerous guy. He loves being the underdog, and he has that “Shockl the world capability”. I would actually feel more comfortable about Silva’s move to LHW if he were fighting a higher ranked opponent like Rashad.
I hope Silva has enough time to adjust to fighting at 205 lbs, scout his opponent, and make a nice gameplan to pick him apart.
I really hope Silva goes back down to Middleweight. The lightheavyweight division is the best in the world, iit really doesnt need Andreson! At Middleweight, there are some up and coming fighters who are a few fights away from challenging the spider. I still want to see Anderson vs:
Hendo 2
Cote
Almeida
Leites
Bisping
Okami
sThe lightheavyweight division is the best in the world, iit really doesnt need Andreson! really hope Silva goes back down to Middleweight. The lightheavyweight division is the best in the world, iit really doesnt need Andreson! At Middleweight, there are some up and coming fighters who are a few fights away from challenging the spider. I still want to see Anderson for IrvinI really hope back down to MiddleweightUFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (21-4) will take a temporary leave of absence from the division he has all but cleared out and move up
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« UFC green lights Spike TV special on July 19 (Update)Anthony Johnson vs Kevin Burns UFC Fight Night 14 fight booked »
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Anderson Silva vs James Irvin UFC Fight Night 14 main event set
By: MMAmania
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (21-4) will take a temporary leave of absence from the division he has all but cleared out and move up to light heavyweight to challenge James Irvin (14-4) during the main event at the newly-minted UFC Fight Night 14 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 19.
Win or lose the “Spider” will retain his middleweight crown and likely still defend it in the near future,
Damn Vera vs Thiago sounds focking amazing… This event is turning out to be amazing!
Where did you here that? Those are some great adds. This card could completely overdo the Affliction card. And it’s free.
I got a source telling me that this is a very and highly realistic match-up, or you could see Cain vs. Vera.. that is what he is hearing, but the guy has mislead me before, but most of the times he is right.
Do you mean Vera vs. Cain Velasquez or Luis Cane?
My little birdy be tellin’ me
Vera fighting Luis Cane would be an AMAZING fight!..
dana is a bully. and like most bullies the ufc is bigger and stronger than the people that they are picking on.
MMA is a business and the fact that “dana is a bully”, as you put it, only creates better match-ups and cards for US FANS.
I love that Dana is doing this to counter the AFFLICTION card. Am I still ordering BANNED? OF COURSE.
But you gotta love competition, it simply brings out the best in everyone.
It’s a great time to be an MMA fan!
Capitalism at it’s finest.
All HAil MMA!!
Pretty solid free card. I would have liked to have seen Silva put up against a higher caliber lhw, but it’s his first 205 fight, so no biggie. And Franca/Edgar is a badass fight
Think of it like this. If someone was trying to pick up on your gf/wife then you would put the smack down…right??? That is what Dana is doing here. He also knows that people will watch the spike show because it will be free. This is a very smart business move. Especially if Tim Sylvia beats Fedor. A former UFC heavy beating the so called P4P King of MMA. I can see Dana smiling devilishly right now…..
I wonder if Dana didnt let Tim Sylvia walk on purpose just so he could fight Fedor to piss of Randy and hope that Tim would beat Fedor that way Randy can stop crying…
Ey BigRuss, nice one!!!Perfect analogy!!
thats a good fight right there Anderson vs James Irvin very explosive fight could go either way both good strikers
Wouldn’t it be great if Anderson took him down and submitted him? I actually think that might happen… Anderson is a smart guy, and he knows Irvin can hit hard…
Who has Irvin beat that is above an average fighter? His KO win over Terry Martin, awesome as it is, was lucky. He was beeing dominated. A win over Houston no chin Alexander. Then what?
While his resume may not be as impresive as Silva’s, he has one punch KO power, he’s a muay thai fighter and will be the bigger fighter. Personaly, I see this as a pretty close fight. I will still pick Silva, but I don’t think he will dominate.
I see him tapping him or dropping knees to Irvnin’s dome. They are both 6′2” and Anderson has a small reach advantage. Anderson is more lean and wiry though.
Sweet! Great idea letting him try out his skills at LHW without leaving the belt vacant. It makes it possible for Silva to hold two belts simultaneously. I’m all about it.
I love this fight Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin will be a striker vs. brawler match, exiting fight.
And for Vera why not bonnar??? I like to see Bonnar back in the octagon and he can welcome Vera to te LHW.
For Velasquez??? not a lot of options but… Shane Carwin will be a very good fight, but UFC don´t do that and put Velasquez whit someone like a new HW or why not Scott Junk
i think Cain fights
Neil Wain or Antoni Hardonk
too bad it wasn’t Silva vs Vera… both first fights in diff weight class. a man can dream can’t he?
i like the card so far but i can’t help but laugh at Danas ego
i’ll be watchin BOTH either way
irvin beats silva in the first round.
hmm i doubt that Silva is way to slick to get knocked out in the first round..
If odds give a good payout for Irvin Im definitely putting money up on him. His KO power is amazing.
I’m with you man, with him as a underdog, I will definatly put some money on him.
It’s a nice thought, but after that fight against Henderson I swore I would never again bet against Silva.
hey man im with you. hard to see anyone beatin silva, really like this irvin tho, could be future LHW champ!!! great chance to shock the world.
affliction card is one of the best card ever… stacked from top to bottom of the cards with talented fighters… however, i dont have a tivo, and i cannot afford ppv, so i am gonna watch the free spike fights…. unless i can find a place that shows the affliction card…
dana is doing a very smart business move because even though he cannot get all of the viewers to tune in to the spike tv fights, but he atleast gets a portion of the viewers… with anderson silva crown as “best p4p” im sure he’s gonna be a good draw for the ufc. i still dont think hes the best p4p because the best p4p is fedor… then second that would be a tie between gsp and bj penn….. then comes anderson silva. in all of his fights, i havent seen enough of his bjj to be considered the best p4p. even though hes got a black belt in bjj under nog, who has one of the best jits game ever, i still think hes got a bit more to prove..
for some reason, i think james irvin can pull an upset because he is a very underrated fighter. if he can some how beat anderson silva, how would most mma “experts” rank him among the lhw division? would that also put him near the title contention?
thats just my 2 cents
Very interesting question Roni. I wonder how this will bump Irvin’s rank with a win. He was going to fight Rashad, and I think a win over Anderson rather than Rashad would be better for him, but I dunno.
If Irvin beats Anderson then he needs to drop down to 185 but I just don’t see Anderson losing. I can’t wait to see how Anderson will look twenty pounds heavier. I think he’ll look like a beast.
I’m in the same boat as you man, I just can’t afford to purchase the Affliction’s PPV, but honestly as staked as this card is on paper, I think the UFC card will be more exciting. Do you really think Fedor ir the best P4P, if Fedor was shrunk down to a 155 pound frame, do you really think he would beat BJ Penn?
Fedor is the best…he has beaten more top ten fighters than anyone else in the world. He just hasn’t done it lately. A win over Sylvia will reconfirm his status.
Best HW, yes. Best P4P, not even close.
jake obrian vs cain
Irvin via KO/TKO round 1 or at most round 2.
Silva TKO Rd. 1… Irvin stands no chance
Smart business move by the Fertittas. Rub out the potential competition before they get a foothold. Kudos to Silva. Vera should be begging to be on this card.
Watch out for Anthony Johnson. He be 1 realy bad mo fo!!!! Watch out in the WW division for this guy. He reminds me of a faster, slighty smaller version of Anderson Silva, and that is pretty scary
On the feet, he does kinda resemble Anderson. But Anderson is a Noguiera black belt. I don’t think Rumble has anywhere near that type of BJJ credentials.
Poor affliction. They will get my $50 and every other die hard but how many are there? 20k? That might pay for Fedor.
I am boycotting this UFC. I think it is a complete BS move to put this on just to block Affliction, who has an awesome card. Total BS move, and the UFC is putting together fights that do not even make sense just to try to steal the limelight. Dana always talks about how much he has done for the sport, this is NOT good for the sport – or the fans – only good for UFC brass. Again, this is BS.
Whatever man, if you want to Boycott a free and awesome card go right ahead. Dana has done A LOT for the sport, but it is still a business, cry me a river if you don’t like it. BTW, as “awesome” as Afliction’s card is on paper, I would bet that the UFC’s card turn out to be more exciting, having a card top heavy with HWs could turn out to be a snooze fest.
You and the mexicutioner should get together and boycott MMA or even better, mmamania.com. How could you possibly say this is not good for the fans or the sport? Affliction vs. UFC is the best thing that could ever happen for us fans.
Competition forces you to create a superior product if you want people to buy it. Dana isn’t doing anything different than any business in this country. Do you boycott Target just because they are having a sale the same day as Walmart?
Affliction was fully aware of what they were up agaisn’t. If they want to succeed they will need to step up the promotion and I don’t think the addition of Megadeath is going to cut it.
Yes as a matter of fact I did boycott Target for that exact reason.
Free card of great fights and Fedor… all in one night! Use your head man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Haze and bnf… it makes no sense to think of this as a BS move or to boycott a UFC event. This is the perfect scenario for both the sport and the fans. Competition is good (not that I consider Affliction to be too much competition to the UFC in the long run). You are right about one thing: the only reason the UFC is putting this event on is to go head to head with Affliction. So what’s the problem with that? Who cares why they are doing it, two good MMA cards in one night… buy one, tivo the other, we all win. Props to the UFC and Dana White for answering the bell and not laying down. Steal the limelight UFC, as long as it means putting on great cards!
Boycotting an event because it’s not fair to the competition? That sounds pretty Russian if you ask me. Damn whiny proletariats.
Yeah man, use your head. Beggars can’t be choosers!!
personaly im one of the biggest silva fans but the move to 205 makes me think i mean he strong but think of it if he was fightin rampage or one of the other big wrestlers he would get dominated the fight against irvin i think will be good the both like to bang but silva definatly has the advantage on the ground an im sure he will win this fight
Silva would get dominated by Rampage? No way… I’d take Silva to win that fight. Silva is the most dynamic striker in MMA. His pin-point accuracy with his hands, feet, elbows and knees is unparallelled. Besides, look at how they both did against Hendo (a great wrestler).
dude u realize that Irvin has knocked out almost half of his mma record…hes no joke…hes a great muy thai fighter training with fairtex…and not to mention he was originally a HEAVYWEIGHT…the guy was huge and moving down to 205 hes 1 of the strongest in the 205 class…silva is moving up a class…really in my opinion irvin is just gonna overpower him in clinch or ground…its just like making diego sanchez bump up to 185 and Chuck liddell move down to 185…Irvin is MUCH stronger… irvin wins no doubt
So strength is all that matters in MMA? I guess thats why Lesnar dominated Mir right? Irvin is a decent fighter with knockout power, but Hendo won most of his fights by KO or TKO, so did Franklin and Leben until they ran into teh Spider. Silva is a freak and once he hits Irvin a few times, Irvin is gonna know he is in trouble. Silva wins in Rd 1
Lesnar was dominating Mir, and then got caught in an unlucky submission. But I still completely agree strength is overated in MMA, and Silva is going to destroy Irvin.
Yeah, very well said. MMa isn’t about size but technique. The Spider has all the tools to beat Irvin because the Spider’s stand-up ain’t no joke either. So I’m placin’ my money on Silva!
Am i the only one who think Silva will hit & move the first 2 minutes, hurt The Sandman and then take the fight to the ground and just dominate. Finish with ground & pund or Sub?
Why would he stand toe to toe against a one dimensional brawler, even if the chances are really slim that he would loose a standing battle?
Silva is a smart fighter, and likes to stay injury-free. 4 min with the Sandman and he can defend he’s title against Okami in late august or september.
Silva doesn’t go for the takedown in many of his fights. He loves to stand and trade. Especially when standing and trading for Silva usually means he is nailing someone with strikes from every angle possible and not getting hit back in return
Irvin via KO/TKO round 1 or at most round 2.}{}}}yea there ano’t no wall
Silva doesn’t go for the takedown in many of his fights. He loves to stand and trade. Especially when standing and trading for Silva usually means he is nailing someone with strikes from every angle possible and not getting hit back in return
Silva doesn’t go for the takedown in many of his fights. He loves to stand and trade. Especially when standing and trading for Silva usually means he is nailing someone with strikes from every angle possible and not getting hit back in return
i will still watch affliction as this is a silly move on dana’s part he is not for mma just the ufc he’s rich already manytimes over so much that his pool is not in the proper zoning reg’s that he just pays the fine every time cuz he’s dana f-ing white and no one can tell him what to do .
This to me is a smack to all the people who bought PRIDE ppv’s and ufc’s and now DANA only bought PRIDE to kill the COMp while telling us differently.
i’m so sick of dana saying he loves mma he doesn’t he likes himself and theufc, but we the lovers of mma we win
What? How can you be upset about this. It’s just more mma to watch. As I’ve said before, Dana, IMO still loves mma, but it is still a BUSINESS and Zuffa and the UFC are the best at it. I hope you enjoy the Affliction show, it will be their last.
Last affliction show? I don’t think so bub…
SEE COMPITITION IS a GOOD THING and another great mma promo willl make the ufc better hopefully as well as giving the avid mma fan more choices as in mma we don’t even have a 2 party system as of yet we barley have republicans vs. democrats elite xc vs ufc, we need more choices like a green party…etc…. thanks DANA !!!!
As much as I love watching free MMA, I lost a bit of respect for Dana White and the UFC for this short notice event. This obviously shows they are not about the growth of MMA, but the growth of the UFC. Dirty business move. Very classless. I dont even think Gary Shaw would do such a thing.
Are you kidding? This is proof that ufc considers Affliction a formidable opponent which is why they have to combat it. MMa is not just a sport but a business which means you have to run it like a business! This will only help MMA
Irvin just reminds me of a poor man’s Rich Franklin. This fight won’t make it out of the first round.
Franklin has a sprawl and good ground and pound. If it isn’t a sudden sneaky dramatic blow, Irvin will be on his back eating leather and elbows.
I’ll just wait for the next affliction ppv, oh wait a minute there won’t be one. Especially if they put w. silva ve brandon vera on this show, affliction will be doing good to get 20-25k buys. The problem is if you don’t get on mma websites, then I don’t know if you even know this show is taking place.
Man o man this fight is crazy you know how the fight going to end Silva Stops Irvin in first round TKO or Tap Out does not matter going to b crazy style 205 Silva OMG
Dana, is so smart to put it on free tv, you guys are all buying into his propaganda, the Silva fight is nothing more than a exibition match, the Affliction card is the best card ever put together, I wont be missing that one for a one time free show. If Dana wanted to promote MMA he wouldn’t be doing this, he just wants to stuff his pockets with cash.
Awesome! I tihnk Anderson should just abandon the 185 division all together and build on to his legacy with some 205 action. There are some pretty nice match-ups for him at 205, might as well let Hendo and Franklin fight over the 185 crown.
Totally agree. He has already killed the best at 185. Just put any of the top 10 LHW vs Silva and I am very interested. Irvin isn’t even top 10 and I consider this a perfect main event for Spike. I don’t think Silva will just walk through Irvin either.
Having said that, unless the Affliction card replays right after it’s live, then I’ll be watching Affliction no doubt.
I agree. I don’t see anyone at 185 beating Silva for a long time. Maybe Bisping in a couple years. I would love to see Hendo and Franklin.
Bisping?!Man are you effing kiddin’?Even if you give him a decade, he won’t beat the spider…
Has this been made OFFICIAL by the UFC??
I actually don’t mind Irvin and I’m glad to see him fighting again, but I don’t want to see him get smoked which he will. This should be a very, very explosive fight.
i think james will beat anderson but i wouldn’t say first round tko maybe a 2nd or 3rd… but i hear all this talk about tim sylvia being just “former ufc” the guy was LET out of his contract to do this 1 fight with fedor and he plans to come back, as does cro cop, only one who doesnt is randy and he plans to retire anyway..
i wont pay 2 cents for a fedor fight i really don’t like the guy and strongly believe he and his brother are overrated.. now i don’t wanna see people saying im a moron over my opinion consider it me spending my 2 cents saying something about the guy so it doesn’t go towards buying the ppv
How do you think Irvin is going to “TKO” Silva? I mean it is MMA, I would put this as a Matt Serra vs. GSP caliber fight. Irvin is 4-3 in the UFC and one of the wins was because he took an illegal blow. I dunno man. Good luck in Vegas with that one. If your right, call me and i’ll come party too lol.
and his loss was from a freak injury.
Last 8 fights listed below. Tapped to Bonnar lol.
Win Houston Alexander KO (Superman Punch) UFC – Fight Night 13 4/2/2008 1 0:08
Win Luis Arthur Cane DQ (Knee to the Face on the Ground) UFC 79 – Nemesis 12/29/2007 1 1:51
Loss Thiago Silva TKO (Knee injury) UFC 71 – Liddell vs. Jackson 5/26/2007 1 1:06
Win Hector Ramirez TKO (Strikes) UFC 65 – Bad Intentions 11/18/2006 2 2:36
Win Gary LaFranchi Submission (Armbar) Valor Fighting – Showdown at Cache Creek II 9/15/2006 1 1:47
NC Bobby Southworth No Contest (Both fighters fell from the cage) Strike Force – Revenge 6/9/2006 1 0:17
Win William Hill Decision (Unanimous) IFC – Caged Combat 4/1/2006 3 5:00
Loss Lodune Sincaid Decision (Unanimous) WEC 19 – Undisputed 3/17/2006 3 5:00
Bonnar was the next fight, it cut it off. He tapped to a Kimura.
I could not agree with you more! Fedor is overrated! Who has he fought? Cro Cop, who got exposed in the UFC, and Nog. Good wins over Nog, I will give him that. Thats it, some 7 foot freak, some 500 pound sumo guy? Seriously? Look at who guys like Randy have fought… all top competition, not one cream puff. Go Sylvia, I hope you knock Fedor out.
I agree.
randy fought better competition than fedor? you guys are crazy.
Fedor is the real deal! Watch his fights!!
This is Brilliant! Bisping time!!!! He is sure to be the middleweight champ now.
In due time. Not anytime real soon. I think Franklin would smoke Bisping.
LMAO
maybe if franklin and hendo retire tomorrow
Silva isn’t going to vacate his belt
Dana calls you on the phone and ask for a favor and if you want your company to stay on top more than likely you will. If you say no you may not be with the UFC unless the fans love you. Look at Matt Hughes and the UFC is filled with so many fighters who love to fight even on a short notice it is their job.
Hey guys,
Dana obviously sees the potential in affliction’s july 19th card, thus he’s going the extra step to reduce their potential buy rate by putting this card together. If we as fans help his plan come in to fruition by watching spike instead of buying affliction, we’ll be hurting ourselves in the long run. It’s in our best interest that afflictin does well. It will force the ufc to constantly put together good cards, and also pay their fighters better or risk losing them to the competition.
Some may say that having the ufc as the only premier mma organization will be good because we’d have the opportunity to see great match ups, but at what cost to the fighters? If there is no other truly competitive organization, then the fighters will have no choice but to stay with Dana’s “oppressive” contract and less than mediocre pay. With Trump behind affliction, they definitely have the potential for success, and we need to do our part to help.
My hope is that everyone orders affliction and records the ufc event.
No if affliction goes under than Fedor will be forced to go to the UFC and thats one of the few fighters that the UFC doesn’t have that i would actually pay to watch and the UFC puts on the best shows against the best fighters so I would love it if he was in the UFC.
i agree with you. most ppl here are happy because “oh it’s free!”. if you really care about mma, i think both ufc and affliction or whoever should coexist and do well. dana is just putting on a quick card to damage and potentially kill affliction’s business and keep dictating the sport and fighters. if he really cared about the fans, why wasn’t this card announced before? he puts on shitty card like ufc 78 and all of sudden, he’s putting silva lightweight debut on spike tv? wtf
keep in mind silva has never been Ko’d ever.. So half the comments above about him being knocked out in the 1st round are a big stretch of the imagination. No doubt, both fighters are very respectable, and also well experienced. I think it will come down to determination and anticipation. Like a game of chess. First one to make a mistake will be a huge advantage for the opposition. Regardless, just enjoy the fight!
danas playing real cutt-throat towards affliction
Wow…just muther effin WOW!!!
This card is going to be nuts!! Dana White doesn’t mess around at all. This card is gonna take the average fan’s interest in Affliction straight out of the door. IF Dana White could get a mainstream guy like Randy Couture on this card…GAME OVER!
I’m a huge Anderson Silva fan. Should I be worried about this fight, because I am. Irvin is a dangerous dude, not that Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson weren’t, but for some reason The Sandman makes me nervous. I was hoping to see him knock Rah out, that would have been much better…
fan of both guys, i predict irvin will come out strong and throw him round, throw bombs and eventually get caught late in the first or maybe early second. this is an awesome fight and looking foward to this. ref dan M better be knowhere near this one when it takes place.
Look on the bright side all you guys in the USA get to watch either event live record the other and watch right after the first one.
In the UK best I can hope for is either event or hopefully both shows up for download within a few hours of airing or i can try and watch some bs live feed which looks like lego men mma its that pixelated.
Just enjoy the ride guys gonna be one hell of a day for us fans.
yep that is what i will be doing, downloading both on sunday and sitting down with some beers in the afternoon
so what happens in the unlikely chance that irvin wins? i mean he would of beat not only the MW champ but the no#1 p4p fighter in the world and he will probably get nothing from it.
THIS MAN IS UNDEAFTEED IN THE UFC,
HE IS The MIDDLE WEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD ,
THE FUTURE LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD ,
POUND 4 POUND THE GREATEST FIGHTER ALIVE!!
HE IS ANDERSON THE SPIDER SILVA!!!
If Irvin beats Anderson, should he drop to 185 and challenge for the belt?
he cant make 185 he looks like he barely makes 205, that is why i see him beating silva i think he’s just to powerful for anderson, and his losses are all pretty bs.. i don’t plan on betting anything mainly because i don’t have money to throw around with the price of ppv
I have to assume the people who think Irvin wins are kidding. 6-1 dog @ best.
The UFC is really intent on trying to make this a non-event with their Free tv event now scheduled to conflict with this card.
It really is a great example of the bullying that is prevelent in this business. (What makes TUF so interesting is locking up 16 bullies together with no schleps to bully.)
The UFC is not happy that they are now facing some real competition in the MMA promo biz.
The UFC’s had a free run in this biz for quite a while, but now look to have some serious competition.
There are some real big $$$ppl backing up Affliction and more & more fighters are questioning their deals with the UFC, particularily the “exclusivity” of their contracts. These exclusive deals really hurt us all, as the fighters can only fight in the UFC & therefore cannot (sometimes) make a decent living. A fighter has a very short “shelf life” & needs to make his dough while he can. In the UFC, a figher may have a 3 fight deal, (prob for some good $$$), but he may not get those fights in under 2 or 3 years. Not enough action for an MMA figher to make it in the biz. The UFC needs to drop its exclusivity for its non-championship calibre fighers.
I think the competition is good for us fans as it will force the UFC… (& other promotions) to put on the best shows possible to draw us to buy. It also forces Promotions to pay the fighters what they’re worth.
I really do love the UFC, it’s brought MMA to the mainstream. But to maintain the integrity of the sport, you can’t have a monopoly.
I will buy the PPV event & record the UFC fight card for later viewing.
Irvin is a serious threat to Silva.
I believe that on stand up all things somewhat equal, Irvin being bigger and a thunderous puncher could prove very risky for Silva.
But, what happened to Roy Jones, Jr.?
Didn’t Anderson say he would fight Jones straight boxing?
Why not have that fight on a UFC card?
If Dana promotes that one in Vegas, it’s a “win-win” with all the boxing and MMA fanatics there.
If Silva wins I think they should promote a Silva vs. Jones Boxing bout.
Since Anderson asked for it, Dana and the UFC should get Jones to agree and promote it.
Just my 2 cents…
Irvin will have the strength advantage for sure as he cuts down from 225-230 just to make weight. Silva is moving up 20lbs and I guarantee that won’t be 20lbs of pure muscle. Look at Irvin, he’s about 3% bodyfat on fight night. I guarantee Irvin is as strong if not stronger than most of the HW guys.
Plus this is the perfect match for Irvin as he’s a strictly stand up guy and Silva will play into that thinking he has the superior skills (which I believe he does). However with James strength and striking ability Silva will be getting hit a lot harder than he did from the guys in the MW division.
after andersons rhinoplasty,
i think ufc is featuring a juggler, a ventriloquist and tom cruise with a scientology rant.
I’ll watch Affliction thank you very much.
Watching Anderson dance is always great too.
nderson vs. Lindland would be great but that ain’t gonna happen obviously…
Silve should be very nervous to say the least. The sandman is not ‘asleep’, he seems to pull tricks out of his bag when he needs them. Don’t forget that spectacular flying knee kick, and then the knockout within 8 seconds………………need I say more? Look out you never know what the Sandman may do.
I think that the Sandman has the ability to pull this off, don’t forget that spectacular ‘flying knee kick’, or the latest KNO at 8 seconds. James is not asleep at the wheel. This guy……………Silva better take this seriously because James has tricks up his sleeve.