James Irvin
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Name | James Irvin |
| Nickname | The Sandman | |
| Association | Capital City Fighting Alliance | |
| Weight Class | Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) | |
| Height | 6' 2" (188 cm.) | |
| Style | Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | September 12, 1978 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Sacramento, California, USA | |
| Country | USA | |
| James Irvin Pictures | James Irvin's Official Website |
James "The Sandman" Irvin is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Light Heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Irvin attempted a weight cut to Middleweight, but the cut did not work in his favor, and he returned to the Light Heavyweight division. He is also a former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Heavyweight Champion.
Contents |
[edit] Professional Record
| Record | 15 - 9 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) (2 NC) |
| Wins | 11 T(KOs) 2 Submissions 1 Decisions 1 Other |
| Losses | 4 T(KOs) 4 Submissions 1 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Mamed Khalidov | Submission (Armbar) | KSW 15: Konfrontacja | 3/19/2011 | 1 | 0:33 | |
| NC | Mike Crisman | No Contest (Illegal Knee Strike) | Gladiator Challenge: Young Guns 4 | 1/29/2011 | 1 | N/A | |
| Loss | Jorge Oliveira | Submission (Triangle Armbar) | TPF 7: Deck the Halls | 12/02/2010 | 1 | 1:33 | |
| Win | Angel DeAnda | KO (Punch) | Rebel Fights: Domination | 10/02/2010 | 1 | 1:42 | |
| Loss | Igor Pokrajac | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko | 8/01/2010 | 1 | 2:29 | Return to Light Heavyweight |
| Loss | Alessio Sakara | TKO (Punch) | UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones | 3/21/2010 | 1 | 3:01 | Middleweight bout |
| Loss | Anderson Silva | KO (Punches) | UFC Fight Night 14: Silva vs. Irvin | 7/19/2008 | 1 | 1:01 | Irvin was suspended after the fight for failing a drug test. |
| Win | Houston Alexander | KO (Superman Punch) | UFC Fight Night 13: Florian vs. Lauzon | 4/02/2008 | 1 | 0:08 | Won Knockout of the Night Honors; At the time it was tied for fastest KO in UFC history alongside Don Frye. |
| Win | Luis Arthur Cane | DQ (Illegal Knee to the Head) | 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 (Kick to the Body and Elbows) | 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 Cage) | Strikeforce: Revenge | 6/09/2006 | 1 | 0:17 | |
| Win | William Hill | Decision (Unanimous) | IFC: Caged Combat | 4/01/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Lodune Sincaid | Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 19: Undisputed | 3/17/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Stephan Bonnar | Submission (Kimura) | UFC Fight Night 3: Ultimate Fight Night 3 | 1/16/2006 | 1 | 4:30 | |
| Win | Terry Martin | KO (Flying Knee) | UFC 54: Boiling Point | 8/20/2005 | 2 | 0:09 | |
| Win | Doug Marshall | KO (Knee) | WEC 15: Judgment Day | 5/19/2005 | 2 | 0:45 | Defended WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Loss | Mike Kyle | KO (Punch) | UFC 51: Super Saturday | 2/05/2005 | 1 | 1:55 | |
| Win | Houssain Oushani | KO (Punch) | WEC 12: Halloween Fury 3 | 10/21/2004 | 1 | 2:27 | Defended WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Jody Poff | TKO (Punches) | WEC 11: Evolution | 8/20/2004 | 1 | 1:44 | Won first-ever WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Bo Cantrell | KO | GC 24: Gladiator Challenge 24 | 3/20/2004 | 1 | 2:39 | Defended Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Scott Smith | KO | GC 22: Gladiator Challenge 22 | 2/12/2004 | 1 | 2:21 | Won Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Pete Werve | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | GC 20: Gladiator Challenge 20 | 11/13/2003 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Allen Scoville | Submission (Armbar) | GC 18: Gladiator Challenge 18 | 8/21/2003 | 1 | 2:42 | |
| Win | Bo Cantrell | TKO (Strikes) | GC 16: Gladiator Challenge 16 | 6/01/2003 | 1 | N/A | |
[edit] Mixed Martial Arts Career
James Irvin began his mixed martial arts career in 2003, winning his first five fights in the first round, while competing under the Gladiator Challenge banner, raking up impressive wins over opponents such as Bo Cantrell (twice) and Scott Smith.
Irvin would then go on to fight on the WEC's August 20, 2004 card, WEC 11: Evolution, to compete for the promotion's first-ever Heavyweight championship. Irvin defeated Jody Poff for the title, and defended it in devastating fashion against Houssain Oushani only two months later, finishing the fight, once again, in the first round. The win brought Irvin's record to 7-0, with all his fights ending in the first round.
James Irvin made his UFC debut against Mike Kyle on February 5, 2005 at UFC 51: Super Saturday, losing his first fight of his professional career. He would rebound with two straight victories; the first against future WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Doug Marshall in a WEC event and then the second against Terry Martin at UFC 54: Boiling Point, knocking Martin out with a flying knee.
His two-fight win streak would come to a halt with two straight losses. The first came at the hands of The Ultimate Fighter 1 runner up Stephan Bonnar, who submitted Irvin with a Kimura. The next loss took place at a WEC event against Lodune Sincaid.
From there, Irvin fought in an IFC event, defeating William Hill by Decision (Unanimous). His next fight was against Bobby Southworth at Strikeforce: Revenge on June 9, 2006. The fight was called a No Contest when both fighters fell from the cage.
After a quick submission victory in the Valor Fighting promotion, once again in the first round, James returned to the UFC to take on Hector Ramirez at UFC 65: Bad Intentions on November 18, 2006. Irvin defeated Ramirez by TKO (Kick to the Body and Elbows) at 2:36 of the second round.
Irvin would then lose to Brazilian Thiago Silva at UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson on May 26, 2007 via TKO (Knee Injury). His next fight would be bitter sweet, as he would win, but due to disqualification. His opponent was Luis Arthur Cane, and the fight took place at UFC 79: Nemesis. Cane was disqualified when he landed an illegal knee to the head of a downed Irvin.
On April 2, 2008, Irvin fought Houston Alexander as the opening fight on the televised portion of UFC Fight Night 13: Florian vs. Lauzon. Irvin led off with a superman punch to the jaw that knocked Alexander down. He followed with three more punches to Alexander's head that appeared to render him temporarily unconscious, and Steve Mazzagatti rushed in to stop the fight. Alexander immediately got to his feet and protested the quick stoppage. The 8-second knockout tied the record for the fastest knockout in the UFC at the time. The victory was officially ruled as a TKO due to strikes, although some sources list it as a KO. This has generated some controversy as some fans felt that the fight was stopped prematurely.
Irvin was supposed to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 85: Bedlam in London, England but sustained a foot injury that forced him to pull out, and Evans was removed from the card as well.
When the UFC's Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva was to make his Light Heavyweight debut, Irvin became his opponent after four other fighters had already declined. UFC Fight Night 14: Silva vs. Irvin was intentionally scheduled for July 19, 2008 in order to conflict with the pay-per-view broadcast of Affliction: Banned. Despite Irvin being the larger fighter, he was regarded as a significant underdog. At about one minute into the first round, Silva caught a kick dealt by Irvin and knocked him down with a straight right hand. Silva then followed with a barrage of punches ending the fight by knockout. Afterwards, Irvin tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone.
[edit] Attempted Move to Middleweight
Irvin was scheduled to return at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida against Drew McFedries, making his debut as a Middleweight. However, he was unable to fight because of a torn meniscus. Instead Irvin was then supposed to make his return at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira against Wilson Gouveia, yet this was the second straight event Irvin had to back out of due to the same injury.
Not competing since 2008, Irvin was once again announced to be making his middleweight debut, this time on March 21, 2010 at UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones. His opponent would be American Top Team trained Alessio Sakara. Irvin looked quite terrible at the weigh-ins, which seemed to take a toll on his body as well as his performance later the next day. Midway through the first round of the fight, Sakara threw a short left hook, and the second and third knuckles of his closed fist caught Irvin flush in the eye socket. Unable to see, Irvin quickly retreated and dropped to his knees, and referee Josh Rosenthal waved off the bout and intercepted Sakara from continuing the attack. Irvin immediately complained of an eye poke, and just as quickly, Sakara was steadfast that he threw a closed fist. Multiple replays backed up Sakara's claims, and with Irvin unable to continue from the perfectly legal (and perfectly placed) blow, Sakara earned the TKO victory.
Irvin's future with the promotion was unclear after the consecutive loss, but UFC President Dana White said if he were to fight again there was no way it would be at middleweight.
- "I'm a huge James Irvin fan," White said after the fight. "I'm a fan of the guy; I really am. He's had some of the best knockouts in the UFC, and he always comes to fight. Tonight, it looked like the cut killed him. He couldn't get off. He couldn't throw any punches tonight. He was basically getting lit up by Sakara, and that's not James Irvin. That's not who he is as a fighter. The 185 cut is too hard for him."
[edit] Return to Light Heavyweight
He returned to action, and to the Light Heavyweight division at UFC Live 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko, where he faced Croatian Igor Pokrajac. After a brief ground skirmish, Pokrajac unloaded more than a dozen straight punches that left his opponent dazed and wobbly. Irvin tried to return fire, but Pokrajac dragged him to the mat, took his back, flattened him out and secured a fight-ending Rear Naked Choke at the 2:29 mark of the opening round. The loss was Irvin's third consecutive, making his release from the UFC imminent.
[edit] Championships and Accomplishments
- First-ever WEC Heavyweight Championship
[edit] Personal Life
James Irvin is married.
Irvin graduated in 1996 from Del Oro High School in Loomis, California and attended Azusa Pacific College.
When Irvin is not fighting, he works in the family construction business.
[edit] James Irvin Interviews
Notoriously one of the hardest fighters to find any information about, this is a compilation of our archieves. Click the heading to reveal all we know about "The Sandman".
