“My suspension is up on April 19. I will fight on the first card after April…. I’d love to fight Wanderlei [Silva]…. I want to actually try and get to 185. There are a bunch of guys down there that I really want to beat up…. I just fought Anderson Silva who I find a lot scarier than Wanderlei. Not to take anything away from Wanderlei, but I only get up to fight tough guys. I’ve trained for a long time and I’ve worked my way up the ranks. I only want to fight tough guys now. I don’t want to fight any lower class guys. Every time I fight now I’m going to ask for a top 10 guy.”
– James Irvin talks to Warrior Fight Store about his possible return to the Octagon. “Sandman” tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone after 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 apparently had to serve just a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). He has a split record (4-4) in eight fights for the promotion, which includes a win via disqualification over Luis Arthur Cane.
88 Comments »
dream on sandman
I say grant him his wish and see how he likes it. I was actually starting to admire Irvin’s courage, then he dopes up on pain killers. He should have just withdrew from the fight instead. Oh wel….
i would love to see liddell and Irvin, W.Silva wanted to go down to 185 and face Bisping.. sounds like a London Main event or in the states a Co-Main Event
thats a long suspension! did he break his orbital or something?
He got busted for painkillers.
Now he’s smoking something.
He should have Pfizer, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline sponsorship logos on his shorts next time he fights.
Calling out Wandy? Please. He must still be on that shit and feeling invincible.
No no, this is GOOD, let Wanderlei get in there, KO this this nut and get back on track; he just needs a little confidence builder imo to get back into vintage Wandi form.
you mean like the jardine fight?
yea yea, just like that one, lol. I don’t like Jardine much, I could watch that KO all day; same with Sandman. I’ll never get tired of seeing those two lose.
As big a fan as i am of Wand, Irvin has too much legit KO power to comeback to. If he bullrushes him, he might end up on his back like thiago. I never thought i would say this but am not sure if wand is a lock to win this.
totally agree with you NNR, I love watching w silva but his akilees heel was revealed to the world on dec 27,
any body he faces from here on out will be looking to throw stiaght shorter punches inside of his looping wild power strikes.
I would love to see w silva to start looking for the take down and unleash hell from gruard or 1/2 guard at least that way he cant get koed by some one hes on top of maybee even look for a sub man I wish legends like W silva would adapt thier game
James Irvin is a dangerous opponent for Wanderlei stylistically. I would actually like to see this one.
All I know is someone is getting KTFO.
On a side note, how the hell are you gonna challenge nothing but top 10 fighters when you don’t even come close to making the list?? Don’t you have to WIN some fights to justify challenging top 10 competition???
ODamn: I agree! This guy is an idiot! Calling out wanderlei as if he has earned the right to face a legend. Last time they let him face a legend he got KO’ed in 10 seconds like a lil biatch! I hope the UFC spares us from anymore Sandman vs. Top 10 fighters match ups because the guy is WEAK!!!!!
He should be fightingf the Ed Hermans of the world, not Wanderlei!
Lol, sup John; I actually don’t mind this at all, too many people on here saying Wandi is washed up and that even Irvin can KO him, time for the axe murderer to get back in there and show everyone WTF is up! WAR WANDI!
The best Wanderlei I’ve ever seen and am still waiting to see his return has to be Wandi vs Cro Cop 1 and Wandi vs Henderson 1, like Quadros said “here we are seeing a thinking Wanderlei”.
Considering that Wanderlei is completely shopworn, has lost 4 out of 5 fights and is considering a move to 185. Now is the perfect time to “call him out”. This is not like Irvin is asking for a fight with the Silva who was Pride middleweight champion and unbeaten for five years. That Wanderlei is gone. Yeah he might get an occasional KO vs. a Keith Jardine, but the Wanderlei everyone thinks of as this fighting machine disappeared when he was destroyed by CroCop in 2006. His time has past.
Sadly Tyler I agree about Wanderlei. The game has moved on the standard in the UFC is much higher now than the standard back in Pride during Wanderlei’s hayday. Wanderlei has definitely got some good fights left but I don’t see him winning a belt in the UFC. Perfect time for Irvin to call out Wanderlei, he’s not stupid, he could definitely win this one.
I totaly agree with you on this
hehehehehehehehehe!! Irvin.. is funny guy.. hehehehehehehehe.. He should stay away any one who’s last name is Silva. hehheehhehehehe
Anderson is light years ahead of Wanderlei…Irvin actually has a good chance in this one.
that would be a great fight or..
liddell vs irvin
well i’m pretty damn sure wandy would whoop irvin’s ass. but i really think wandy should stop fighting at LHW and move down the MW. he will be more dominant there.
At this point in Wanderlei’s career, Irvin has the advantage. In fact, I’d give the average keyboard warrior online here a pretty good chance of KO’ing Silva.
Doubtful that Irvin could make 185. He’s a lot bigger than Dean Lister, and Lister struggled to make that drop.
Sandman is pretty ripped - 185 would be a tough cut.
yes and im pretty sure in the silva fight he had to strip down naked just to make 206….he probably walks around at the least 225
yeah, Anderson looked bigger than Irvin when they fought.
Irvin didn’t make weight for the Anderson Silva fight he was 207.5!
didnt Irvin fight a few at 185 in the ufc? or was the terry martin fight at 205?
The hyenas are starting to circle the wounded Lion. Chuck also asked to fight Wand again. NO CLASS
They aren’t too bright imo, thats the wrong guy to pick to try and use as a stepping stone; that mentality is a good way to end up on the receiving end of a highlight reel KO. BRING EM ON! WAR WANDERLEI!
I think you have that bass ackwards. Didn’t Wandy ask for Chuck?
actually they both are or were asking for each other….
I think the main reason everyone wants to fight Wandi is because it’s going to be a damn good fight; win or lose they know that fighting Silva has potential fight of the night bonus all over it.
This is true. It could definitely be a factor. A like this fight a lot. It’s got fireworks written all over it.
Can’t wait to see The Sandman again, one of my favorite KO artists. Would love to see him against Wanderlei, though it won’t be very healthy for Wand to get ktfo again.
Actually its not going to be healthy for whoever is fighting Irvin next, whoever it is is going to get knocked out, hard. Mark my words.
Agreed. I’m a fan of the Sandman, regardless of his use of painkillers before the Silva fight. He was suffering from a broken ankle and should have withdrawn from the fight, but that’s another story altogether.
Wandi really needs to incorporate the jab into his striking to set up his windmil punching flurry’s; his head movement isn’t all that bad when he’s on point; he needs to get with Roach or a really good boxing coach, never want Wanderlei to change his style or agressiveness, just incorporate more into his game. Also haven’t seen him get into a good thai clinch inside the UFC yet, no knee opportunities; maybe working with Couture on getting on the inside and going for that clinch.
Im not sure if Irvin is in a spot to start calling his own shots yet is he. I never thought he was that good, still dont.
Wanderlei just pack in the lw dream and fight at MW. He’s too small for LW
He’d hace better fights at MW. Him and Bisping, Leben (when he’s back), Cote, sure even Louiseau (can’t spell) would be a good fight
As for Irvin, he’s no where near top 10. Give him Vera or Jardine. They’d be good fights maybe
James Irvin 1st round KO!
yea i wont to fight wandy too! wtf
the sandman has some pretty heavy hands sure rampage said that he was the hardest guy he ever sparred against. if he was to connect on the button he could ko silva.
Yeah, Rampage said he’s probably the hardest hitter in the division…Besides himself of course haha.
irvin calling otu wanderlie??? yeeeeeeeeeah. this boy doesnt deserve top 10 fights. He needs to work his cheating ass all the way up! Hes done nothing to deserve the fight against Wanderlie! Wanderlie would KO this foo!!
WAR SANDMAN!!!
can someone wake the sandman before he says anything else!!!!
Word!!!, the only thing he has going for him and I swear this helps, is that he looks good….lol!!! He has some skill and heavyhands but he is not a threat to anyone good is he, I dont think so. He has been around for a long time and has accomplished nothing. His fight against Anderson was not a title shot, they just needed a scraficial lamb to get Silva back in the ring, boy got KTFO!!!!!
Top 10 or not..clearly the UFC though he was a perfect person to feed to a silva..so why not challenge the rest when he knows the ufc will or potentially will do it?? You guys are all nuts and in MMA all it takes is one punch…no examples needed..
Who the hell is James Irvin?
the co-owner of the quickest KO in UFC history….
I’m sure you were beinc sarcastic though…
is Wand even top ten anymore…barely if he is…
NO! Not many top 10 guys have lost four out of five fights. Not to mention he’s 5 and 6 since he fought Mark Hunt. That’s a fight nobody talks about, but I think took a lot out of him.
There are a list of fighters I love to watch no matter what the rank is…
Genki Sudo ( sucks that he retired)
Anderson Silva
Chuck Liddell
Wandy
Rampage
Josh neer
Both Diaz brothers
gotta put james on there only time his fights boring is when the ref is announcing the winner, win or lose dude likes to throw
Hey what about Elvis Sinosic LOL only lost about 5 in a row didn’t he
thats a good fight i say give em what he wants that fight will be fireworks
Let him fight silva he will get his ass beat up again h’s known fo what a flying knee and superman punch…lol hes a chump
I hate to sound like a dick…but come on, irvin got his shit rocked by anderson but he is a tough s.o.b..he could def. KO wandi. Wandi isn’t the same fighter he used to be. Its funny that irvin is getting no respect because anderson destroyed him.watch and see.if wandi steps in the ring with irvin,he’s goin to sleep.again.
that would be a fight I’d watch! sandman should get his wish
Your saying wand isnt the same?? yet what has the sandman done?? he KO’d houston alexander who gets zero respect for skills on here, then KO’d in complete style by 185er!! all be it a silva, so where in the world do you come up with the conclusion that sandman kop’s wandi?????????????
Is it because he has only fought one world class opponent and ko’d quick, where as wandi has fought many and be ko’d a couple of times, but more often than not came out on top??mmmm interesting!!!
How bad is UFC95 im so sick i bought tickets for this shitty card!!
Ok, but look at it this way, Anderson Silva is also P4P the best in the world, so a loss to him isnt much to be ashamed about seeing how he acually got into the cage with him in the first place. So your saying he would get KO’d again by a much shittier Silva just because he lost to the best fighter on the planet right now??
Your just an !diot… You cant even make 1 valid point!
sandman did get punked by the spider but he is a champion sandman isn t even a contender for a title shot
i think this would be a good fight. if irvin could get to 185 in healthy way, he would be a beast.
Sandman, Sandman, Sandman ….. just because you mate and good training partner Rampage KO’d Wanderlei, does not mean you will. As much as I like to watch Irvin fight, he is to stiff, tense when he strikes …. very predictable … go do some yoga and Thai Chi mate and then maybe the UFC will think about it.
WAR SANDMAN. personally i think wandy is done. sandman is still pretty young and has some heavy ass hands. plus hes a big ass lhw. i think hed ko wandy in the first round. make it happen for 97!:D
Wanderlei was scared and so tenative of Rampage … honestly, if Wanderlei fights Sandman it will be an identical result to that of Jardine fight. Props for Irvin trying to fight in front of a bigger audience.
Id like to see Irvin at 185, i think he would be a handful for anyone in the 85 division, Irvin vs Bisping no that im thinking about it
I can’t stand Irvin. He is a cheater and always looks for a way out of fights. That bullshit he pulled vs Banha Cane was a disgrace to any combat sport. He’s a bitch. Like Cane said, he’s a “no-heart coward” and a disgrace to the UFC brand. What gives this guy the balls to even mention Wand or top 10 guys in a sentence?? Put him in vs Cain Velasquez at HW just so this loser can disappear. Wand (NOT WANDY LOSERS) is way past his prime and losers like Irvin do not deserve a shot at him on his decline.
How’s he a cheater? and LOL at a “disgrace to the UFC brand”. What did Irvin fuck the shit out of your girlfriend or something? You seem too emotionally involved in Irvin.
Well hes kinda a cheater cause hes currently suspended for roids
He was suspended for Illegal pain killers. Irvin has never tested positive for steroids
Just as my name suggest, that would be Wanderlei’s future if he fought Irvin. It’s sad to think that people acually think he WOULDN’T KO Silva. Not to mention he tied the record for fastest KO in the UFC, I’m pretty sure he would break the record if he fights Wanderlei.
Sandman all the way…
fuck yeah im with you all the way on that one
Hellz yes Jared. Someone who finally agrees that Irvin isnt some bum-ass fighter.
Site ótimo para quem gosta de MMA vale-tudo. Lutas para Down.
http://www.universoMMA.blogspot.com
Irvin beats Wandy if it happens. So many emotional picks on here.
So true!
You guys are uneducated I’m afraid and you must be brothers from the look of your names
A Wanderlei nuthugger I assume. W
DownUnder, I don’t think it’s an educational problem. I’m a bit of a puss when it comes to betting, but I’ve called out several mismatches over the last few years and I tend to nail those. For example, Florian vs Huerta, GSP vs Hughes 2 and 3, Brock vs Herring, and soon to be GSP vs Penn. Some fights play on your emotions to make a mismatch seem even. I think this would be one of them.
Are you guys sharing the same computer
I agree with you 100% on the Freddie Roach thing…Ive always said that a boxer will land the clean crisper punches over a mma artist any day hands down.
James Irvin…what a joke. Like so many of you have said already, beat some decent fighters and earn your shot at a top 10 fighter. The truly funny thing is, have you ever heard any top 10 fighter call out Irvin?? No, because they don’t even know who he is.