“In the days leading up to my fight with Anderson Silva, I experienced some residual pain in my foot from a previous injury. I made the extremely poor choice to take some pain medications that I did not have a prescription for. I realize this was an ignorant and dangerous decision.”
– James Irvin makes his first public remarks via Sherdog.com since testing positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone, following his first round technical knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. “The Sandman” — who was nursing a broken foot just weeks before accepting the bout — claims that he used the banned substances to mask the pain associated with the injury. He will likely be suspended and fined for the “decision” at an upcoming disciplinary hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
37 Comments »
Irvin out!
Irvin out??? Lets see…..Alot of Mania bloggers were very forgiving of Rampage! Are some of you guys going to cut Irvin that same slack? Or is this thread going to be all bashing? Im interested to see what some of you have to say.
I’m not trying to bash him I’m just saying it’s about time we heard somthing from him. Sorry if it came out wrong.
I agree DB! Its about time we hear something!
“I realize this was an ignorant and dangerous decision.”
-so you also must realize that facin’ the Spider in the octagon is also an ignorant and dangerous decision, hehe!!
II dont care if he took a few pain killers. A few Percocets never hurt anyone!
As for Oxy Contin, I wouldnt recomend it to anyone let alone a Pro fighter!
I agree!..He had an excuse for the painkiller’s but what about the methadone???..He has to be trying to kick something??
The oxycotin generic is oxycodone, which is Percocet without the tylonol. They both have the same exact active ingredient/inhert binder. They are both synthisized by thebaine, which is a minor componet of opium. They are essentially the same drug. Methadone on the other hand while used for severe pain is normally used for treating opiate withdrawl. Methadone has a slow metablolism. He did not just eat 1 methadone a week before the fight to test positive. Most of those drugs are out of your system in 24 to 36 hours hours depending on amount. Methadone has a metabolism life upto 60 hours and is fat soluble (stores in the fat cells/similar to Marijuanna). So if he tested positive it was the night before or was eating them for a bunch of days. That is my guess anyway. I really do not think he was cheating either, he just wanted to fight. Maybe he has a drug problem maybe he doesn’t not for us to say, non of us know his circumstances. To think he was going to fool the commision though is dumb.
to say junkies only eat MEthadone and people that eat some percs are not junkies, just trying to get a little high and have some fun, is a little misinformed. Methadone is used for long term/chronic pain since it last longer in the body. I know plenty of people in my practice that use methadone for chronic back pain.
MOnkey: Oxy Contin’s and Percocets are completely different! Oxy contin’s are given to cancer patients. Perks are given for something as minor as tooth aches. Comparing the two is not accurate IMO
I wasnt aware that Methadone could be used for anything other then Kicking the Habbit, thanks for the heads up. But you cant honestly compare Oxy Contins to Percs.
HOw many dentists do you know perscribe their patients Oxy Contins? NONE because its basically synthetic Heroin!
Best thing Perks is used for recreationally, is to blow girls backs out! Try having sex on percs. whenever I would Bang a hot chick for the 1st time, I would always take a few itchies and she would think I was super man! lol
Well, we agree that he probably wasn’t trying to cheat, but like you said, very stupid tring to fool the athletic commision.
you are so misinformed john. My wife is the supervising pharmacist for 3 or 4 VA hospitals. Da monkeys post was exactly right! Take away the asprin and you have oxies. Vicodin is also in the same class (to a lesser extent) They are all opiates. Percocet has asperin. While they aren’t exactly the same. That’s why they give the percs for toothe aches and oxies for severe pain. The 10/500 for example (vicodin) is 10 mg vicodin, 500 mg acetemitifin (asprin). I agree with the 2 of you, he just wanted to fight, and wasn’t looking for an edge, then again to mask pain, wether an injury or not, is kinda cheating!
What does a guy cheating and using drugs for a fight compare to Rampage crashing a car? And whats ur point anyway?? You want me to sayy ooh its okk Irvin you cheated for a fight but thats ok.. Just dont cheap next time!?
matthew- were in my comment did I compare the two? Im talking about weather guys are going to cut Irvin slack! Or bash him? Im curious thats all, dont get your panies in a knot!
I dont think Irvin was cheating, I think he was just trying to get High.
I would rather hear his excuse for the methadone then the pain killers. Methadone is ONLY really used to kick major oppiate habits. I could care less if he just ate some percs, but only JUNKIES take Methadone!
wrong again john, methadone can be used for severe pain. I would imagine training on a broken foot is extreme pain!!
Did not know that Methadone was prescribed for anything accept opiate withdrawl. They are much different then you make it seem. Kev, put it to you this way, when your son is a teenager, you would be much angrier to catch him taking oxycontins (20’s,40’s,or 80’s) then you would you caught him just eating a couple of Perks. Just an example.
I have been prescribed all types of perks in the past for various injuries like, Endocettes, percocet 5 (which are Generic equivalents to Endocettes. Rocacettes, Vicodin, Vicodin ES tablets, Watsons (white, blue, Pink, light green, round 10’s, round 7.5’s). Loracettes. HD’s. I was NEVER prescribed any type of Oxy contin.
Occasionally I will take a perc or 2 recreationally, and I did try oxy contin as a teenager and I can HOnestly say, they have totally different effects.
lol, bad analogy, I’d be equally pissed! Then I’d have to explain why drugs are bad…coming from a guy who used to buy coke by the ounce (for personal use), I know drugs are bad. I get what your saying, but it is all the same base, + or – the amount of asprin and strength. I take vics for my back, and have had perks for teeth, never had oxies. They are a drug of choice because they are more pure and can be cooked down and shot up. I think he was trying to mask the pain, but next time don’t take any for a day or two prior to an event.
JV – Way to throw down the gauntlet, bro! Very cool.
yes. he believed his own hype all because of a lucky superman punch.
about time!
Frowns. How long before silva just get’s sick of the crappy competition he’s being fed lately. This next fight is a joke as well. Cote is always a dissapointment and I am even Canadian. Sorry his foot was broken and he decided to fight but shouldn’t he have realized that the drugs would be a problem with the commission and his performance? Maybe playing with pain made more sense or skipping a payday. I’m shocked dana couldn’t pull a better rabbit out of his hat then that.
well, silvia doesnt mind apparently. he is a champion so if he went out and said give me lidell, rua, machida, wanderlei im sure it would be happening but i think hes in his comfort zone fighting guys like cote. And if you dont believe me, then why is bj doing the same dominating his division yet everyone hears his cries about fighting the very best GSP etc…u dont see that coming out of silvas mouth too much or else he would be pushing those fights against the lidells, rampages, ruas, wanderleis… and i dont dislike anderson, i realize some of it is out of his control, but if he would be as expressive as bj has, then all of those fights would be happening sooner than later!
In anderson’s defense, he’s got machida in the LHW division (machida is in anderson’s camp). He doesn’t want to jump the gun and fight a champion at LHW because he feels the LHW strap belongs to machida. simply put, anderson puts his teammates ahead of personal recognition, and if you don’t understand why I’d say you don’t know much about anderson…
True.
linx: GOod post. U have to respect that about Anderson!
I wonder how much the pain killers played into his delayed reaction when he telegraphed that right kick and caught the right cross. (I think its a cross since Silva is a southpaw.. hmm)
It is indeed a cross. It definitely wasn’t a straight or a hook. anythin’ in between IMO is a cross[like a diagonal strike].
Dangerous decision to take painkillers before fighting Silva? That was probably the best decision he could have made. The only dangerous decision he made was accepting the fight.
hes is the smartest guy in mma he knew what silva was going to do to him…
Stupid choice to take those drugs they dont help you at all yeah some pain goes away but it slows you down stupid stupid stupid irvin…
No one said that he was on the pills during the fight. those types of pills stay in your system for about 3 days.
I cant imagine methadone being a smart Idea for a fight, but Perks dont really slow down reaction time. When you take percocets or other related drugs, there are 2 different effects. initially, they get you all Hyped up and amped up, even put you in a feisty mood. After about an hour and a half, then you start dipping and nodding out which is the stage of the “high” that slows down your reaction time. The initail “amped up” stage of the high is actually awesome for sports. I have played both basketball and Football on perc and I would actually say that its an advantage.
The crucified Diaz for having weed in his system which HAS NO advantage whatsoever, percs do give you somewhat of an advantage depending what stage of the high you are in while you are competing.
Feel me?
i dont think this is going to hurt his standing in the ufc because he was the only guy willing to step up and take the fight.
Exactly…. And irvin still does have some potential.. even though most people on here probly wont agree. He knew he had a punchers chance against silva and losing to the best p4p fighter in the world isnt gonna hurt his spot in the ufc… and as for the pain killers go.. please, there are so many other fighters that have got busted for worse things.. if the ufc realesed him it would be bullshit imo.
Irvin has potential, he is still a good solid fighter- it’s just that people have a long memory about stuff like this. When his name is mentioned 8/10 times so will this incident and it’s a permanent part of his bio. I don’t doubt his foot was bothering him, but s**t! Was his foot giving birth? A combo of methadone and oxymorphine? I don’t think the UFC should release him either, but he certainly can’t afford another lapse in judgment.
Irvin talked a pretty good game before the fight but you could tell something was wrong with him as he made his way toward the octagon. He didn’t look like a fighter who was about to face one of the biggest challenges of his career. Frankly, he looked like he didn’t even want to be there. It’s not that he was scared of Anderson; he just wasn’t there mentally. In the end, I was pissed that I had waited so long for such a short fight.
Losing to Anderson Silva doesn’t exactly hurt Irvin’s career IMHO. Silva would be trouble for most of the fighters in the LHW division. It’s the manner in which he lost that tarnishes his reputation.
Cote – good luck “taking care of” the Spider. Nobody in the UFC has the Spider’s number. He’s simply too good.
Mad props to Irvin for stepping out.
I doubt he is out, would suck to lose a guy with highlight reel KOs.
Irvin made his first strike of the fight with a broken foot lol…. what an idiot shoulda came out with a superman.
i respect irvin taking that fight with an injury. the guy needs a paycheck same as us. we all take pain killers from time to time. its not like he was taking roids or growth hormones. he did man up and take the fight when several lhw fighters turned it down. he stepped up for dana and took a dangerous fight now dana needs to step up for him and help him with the commission. props to you sandman.
And popping some methodone before fighting silva seems like a good premptive move