| James Irvin | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1978 Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Other names | The Sandman |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (90.7 kg; 14.3 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight (205 lb) Heavyweight (265 lb) Middleweight (185 lb) |
| Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
| Style | Muay Thai, Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | Lake Forest, California |
| Years active | 2003 – present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 26 |
| Wins | 15 |
| By knockout | 11 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| Losses | 9 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 1 |
| No contests | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
James Lee Irvin[1] (born September 12, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed as a Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and currently as a Heavyweight. He is a former World Extreme Cagefighting heavyweight champion. He holds notable wins over Houston Alexander and Luiz Cané.
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Irvin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 65 via TKO in the second round after dropping Ramirez with a body kick and finishing the fight on the ground with elbows.
Irvin faced UFC newcomer Thiago Silva on May 26, 2007 at UFC 71. He lost after injuring his knee during a takedown attempt in the first round.
Irvin won a disqualification victory over the formerly undefeated Luiz Cané at UFC 79 after he was illegaly kneed in the head by Cané.
On April 2, 2008, Irvin fought Houston Alexander as the opening fight on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Kenny Florian vs Joe Lauzon, knocking Alexander out with a superman punch in 8 seconds. The 8-second knockout tied the record of fastest knockout in UFC history until UFC 102, where Todd Duffee broke the record with a 7-second KO.
Irvin was supposed to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 85 in London, England but he sustained a foot injury that forced him to pull out and Evans was removed from the card as well.[2]
When the UFC's middleweight champion Anderson Silva was to make his light-heavyweight division debut, Irvin became his opponent after four other fighters had already declined.[3] UFC: Silva vs Irvin was intentionally scheduled for July 19, 2008 in order to conflict with the pay-per-view broadcast of Affliction: Banned.[4] 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 KO.[5][6] Afterwards, Irvin tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone.[7] Irvin subsequently admitted to taking the drugs, stating that he had begun taking painkillers legally as treatment for injuries, and had then become addicted to them.[8]
Irvin was scheduled to return at UFC 98 against Drew McFedries, making his debut as a middleweight.[9] However, he was unable to fight because of a torn meniscus.[10] Irvin injured his knee, forcing him out of a planned middleweight fight against Wilson Gouveia at UFC 102. This would be second straight event Irvin has backed out of due to the same injury.
Irvin then confirmed he would return on one of the UFC's three shows in March,[11] and was later added to the card at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones where he made his debut as a middleweight against Alessio Sakara. Irvin was defeated in the first round after receiving a punch straight in the eye. He covered up and the referee called timeout, assuming an eye poke had occurred. The replay showed that Sakara delivered a legal punch to Irvin's eye, and the fight ended in a TKO victory for Sakara.
Irvin then returned to light heavyweight and faced Igor Pokrajac on August 1, 2010 at UFC on Versus 2.[12] Midway through the first round, Irvin was taken down and was hit by Pokrajac's shoulder as he hit the floor. While visibly hurt, Irvin rolled over and was submitted by a rear naked choke.
Irvin was released from the UFC following his loss to Pokrajac, his third straight loss with the promotion. UFC president Dana White was complimentary of Irvin, saying he expects to see Irvin back in the UFC someday.
After his release from the UFC, Irvin went on to face and defeat Angel DeAnda in Roseville, California on Oct.2,2010 at a Rebel Fights event by way of KO to Win Rebel Fight Heavyweight Championship.
Irvin next faced Jorge Oliveira on December 2, 2010 at "Tachi Palace Fights 7: Deck the Halls". Irvin was defeated by Oliveira in the first round by triangle choke.[13]
James Irvin next fought Mike Crisman at Gladiator Challenge Young Guns 4 on January 29, 2011 with special guest Ken Shamrock serving as the referee. The much bigger and stronger Irvin was caught early in the fight by a well placed punch by Crisman. The vet quickly recovered, and caught a sluggish leg kick, taking Crisman down. Crisman scrambled to get back up and was apparently hit with an illegal knee. With Crisman unable to continue, the fight was ruled a no contest because Shamrock judged that the illegal knee was unintentional. Irvin went on to say, "I beat the brakes off this fool...he was sleeping on the ground. Ken Shamrock says I illegally kneed him, so it was a no-contest! I KO'd this guy and walked away before Shamrock even got there, and two minutes later, he says it's a no-contest. It's cool. I don't have a scratch on me, and I'm fighting again in three weeks. That was the luckiest night of that dude's life." [14] Ken Shamrock turned down an offer to fight Irvin. Irvin said from the start that he had a bad feeling about Ken calling the bout. [15]
Houston Alexander revealed that he will face James Irvin at Shark Fights 14 on March 11 in Lubbock, Texas. Shark Fights was ultimately forced to cancel the scheduled Irvin vs Alexander II bout after Irvin tested positive for steroids, along with Alexander sustaining an injury during training.[16] Irvin tested positive for epitrenbolone metabolite trenbolone. A steroid used for muscle growth in body builders and farm animals.[16]
While currently suspended from competition in the United States, Irvin opted go to Europe for his next fight. He faced Mamed Khalidov in the main event of KSW XV on March 19, 2011 and lost by submission.[17]
James Irvin has stated that 2011 will be his "learning year" and wants to earn his way back to the UFC in 2012.[18] Since leaving the UFC he has gone 1-2-1.[19] James has re-located his training to the UFC gym in Corona, and expects to return to action by December 2nd when his suspension is lifted. He also hopes to continue fighting at 185 lbs if possible.[20]
Irvin is married.[3]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 26 matches | 15 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 4 |
| By submission | 2 | 4 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No contests | 2 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 15-9 (2) | Mamed Khalidov | Submission (armbar) | KSW XV | March 19, 2011 | 1 | 0:33 | Warszawa, Poland | Irvin exceeded weight limit by 15 lb |
| NC | 15-8 (2) | Mike Crisman | NC (illegal knee) | GC: Young Guns 4 | January 29, 2011 | 1 | 3:32 | Elko, Nevada, United States | Crisman hit with an illegal knee by Irvin. |
| Loss | 15–8 (1) | Jorge Oliveira | Submission (triangle/armbar) | Tachi Palace Fights 7 | December 2, 2010 | 1 | 1:33 | Lemoore, California, United States | Heavyweight bout. Tested positive for trenbolone.[21] |
| Win | 15–7 (1) | Angel DeAnda | KO (punch) | Rebel Fights - Domination | October 2, 2010 | 1 | 1:42 | Roseville, California, United States | Won Rebel Fight Heavyweight Championship |
| Loss | 14–7 (1) | Igor Pokrajac | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko | August 1, 2010 | 1 | 2:29 | San Diego, California, United States | Return to Light Heavyweight |
| Loss | 14–6 (1) | Alessio Sakara | TKO (punch) | UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones | March 21, 2010 | 1 | 3:01 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Middleweight debut |
| Loss | 14–5 (1) | Anderson Silva | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin | July 19, 2008 | 1 | 1:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone.[22] |
| Win | 14–4 (1) | Houston Alexander | KO (superman punch) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon | April 2, 2008 | 1 | 0:08 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Knockout of the Night |
| Win | 13–4 (1) | Luiz Cané | DQ (knee to the head on the ground) | UFC 79 | December 29, 2007 | 1 | 1:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 12–4 (1) | Thiago Silva | TKO (knee injury) | UFC 71 | May 26, 2007 | 1 | 1:06 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 (1) | Hector Ramirez | TKO (kick to the body and elbows) | UFC 65 | November 18, 2006 | 2 | 2:36 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 11–3 (1) | Gary LaFranchi | Submission (armbar) | Valor Fighting: Showdown at Cache Creek II | September 15, 2006 | 1 | 1:47 | Brooks, California, United States | |
| NC | 10–3 (1) | Bobby Southworth | NC (both fighters fell out the cage) | Strikeforce: Revenge | June 9, 2006 | 1 | 0:17 | San Jose, California, United States | Both fighters fell out of the cage while the gate keeper was still locking the door. |
| Win | 10–3 | William Hill | Decision (unanimous) | IFC: Caged Combat | April 1, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–3 | Lodune Sincaid | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 19 | March 17, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Stephan Bonnar | Submission (kimura) | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3 | January 16, 2006 | 1 | 4:30 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–1 | Terry Martin | KO (flying knee) | UFC 54 | August 20, 2005 | 2 | 0:09 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Light Heavyweight debut |
| Win | 8–1 | Doug Marshall | KO (knee) | WEC 15 | May 19, 2005 | 2 | 0:45 | Lemoore, California, United States | Defended WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Loss | 7–1 | Mike Kyle | KO (punch) | UFC 51 | February 5, 2005 | 1 | 1:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Houssain Oushani | KO (punch) | WEC 12 | October 21, 2004 | 1 | 2:27 | Lemoore, California, United States | Defended WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 6–0 | Jody Poff | TKO (punches) | WEC 11 | August 20, 2004 | 1 | 1:44 | Lemoore, California, United States | Won inaugural WEC Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 5–0 | Bo Cantrell | KO (punches) | Gladiator Challenge 24 | March 20, 2004 | 1 | 2:39 | Hopland, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Scott Smith | KO (punch) | Gladiator Challenge 22 | February 12, 2004 | 1 | 2:21 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Pete Werve | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Gladiator Challenge 20 | November 13, 2003 | 1 | 5:00 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Allen Scoville | Submission (armbar) | Gladiator Challenge 18 | August 21, 2003 | 1 | 2:42 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Bo Cantrell | TKO (punches) | Gladiator Challenge 16 | June 1, 2003 | 1 | 2:54 | Colusa, California, United States |
| New championship | 1st WEC Heavyweight Champion August 20, 2004 – January 6, 2006 |
Vacant
Irvin moved to Light Heavyweight
Title next held by
Brian Olsen |