The Mac
03-22-2010, 09:05 PM
Following Sunday's unfortunate eye injury and TKO loss to Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 1, James Irvin's future in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be up for discussion among the UFC brass.
But if Irvin, who took a legal knuckle to the eye and couldn't continue in the Versus-televised fight, does remain in the UFC, it won't be at middleweight.
Following the event, UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com he was shocked by Irvin's frame and face after his first cut to middleweight and that he can't see booking the veteran fighter for another bout at 185 pounds.
"No more 185(-pound fights) for him," White told MMAjunkie.com. "He didn't look good. I think he's got a lot of scar tissue in his face under his eyes. That was sticking out more than his eyeballs were. He didn't look good [at weigh-ins]."
Irvin's Skeletor look was popular message-board fodder following Saturday's weigh-ins at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. Irvin weighed in for the first time since his July 2008 loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a non-title light-heavyweight fight. Irvin tested positive for painkillers (and later admitted that his many injuries has caused an addiction) at the fight, and he continued to combat injuries – including a torn meniscus and other leg ailments – in the year and a half afterward.
Finally booked for his return, Irvin struggled to make weight.
His bad luck continued in UFC on Versus 1's first televised bout when Sakara threw a left hook that caught Irvin right in the eye socket. Replays ruled out a finger poke and confirmed Sakara threw a perfectly legal closed-fist punch. The TKO stoppage came at the 3:01 mark of the first round.
After the fight, referee Josh Rosenthal told MMAjunkie.com that he knew from the moment the strike landed that it was a legal blow. Additionally, a Zuffa LLC official said that Irvin also mentioned that the punch may have knocked a chunk of Vaseline into his eye, which may have prompted the temporary blindness.
Despite Irvin's bad luck, White said he remains a fan.
"I'm a huge James Irvin fan," he 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."
But does that mean Irvin, who's now suffered back-to-back losses and three defeats in his past five fights, will remain employed by the UFC?
"I don't know yet," White said. "Those are decisions we make when we get back to the office, but I'm a fan. I'm literally a fan of him. I really like him a lot."
But if Irvin, who took a legal knuckle to the eye and couldn't continue in the Versus-televised fight, does remain in the UFC, it won't be at middleweight.
Following the event, UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com he was shocked by Irvin's frame and face after his first cut to middleweight and that he can't see booking the veteran fighter for another bout at 185 pounds.
"No more 185(-pound fights) for him," White told MMAjunkie.com. "He didn't look good. I think he's got a lot of scar tissue in his face under his eyes. That was sticking out more than his eyeballs were. He didn't look good [at weigh-ins]."
Irvin's Skeletor look was popular message-board fodder following Saturday's weigh-ins at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. Irvin weighed in for the first time since his July 2008 loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a non-title light-heavyweight fight. Irvin tested positive for painkillers (and later admitted that his many injuries has caused an addiction) at the fight, and he continued to combat injuries – including a torn meniscus and other leg ailments – in the year and a half afterward.
Finally booked for his return, Irvin struggled to make weight.
His bad luck continued in UFC on Versus 1's first televised bout when Sakara threw a left hook that caught Irvin right in the eye socket. Replays ruled out a finger poke and confirmed Sakara threw a perfectly legal closed-fist punch. The TKO stoppage came at the 3:01 mark of the first round.
After the fight, referee Josh Rosenthal told MMAjunkie.com that he knew from the moment the strike landed that it was a legal blow. Additionally, a Zuffa LLC official said that Irvin also mentioned that the punch may have knocked a chunk of Vaseline into his eye, which may have prompted the temporary blindness.
Despite Irvin's bad luck, White said he remains a fan.
"I'm a huge James Irvin fan," he 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."
But does that mean Irvin, who's now suffered back-to-back losses and three defeats in his past five fights, will remain employed by the UFC?
"I don't know yet," White said. "Those are decisions we make when we get back to the office, but I'm a fan. I'm literally a fan of him. I really like him a lot."