Report: Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin at Light Heavyweight for Spike TV Main Event on July 19

by Luke Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 5:34 PM EDT in News Comment 35 comments

MMARated.com has learned that not only is the July 19th UFC live event on Spike TV official but that the main event will feature Anderson Silva going up against James Irvin. This fight will mark Silva's UFC debut at 205 lbs.

Without official confirmation from the UFC this is true, it's intriguing nevertheless. Irvin will stand in front of Silva, which should make for an interesting exchange. And talk about the UFC bringing out the big guns to compete with Affliction. There is no Liddell or Rampage on the card, but following on the heels of July 5th event, the UFC buzz will already be in the air. This will ostensibly carry forward that momentum enough to drown out interest in Affliction. And while Affliction will be juxtaposed next to the UFC on matters of "what to watch", the choice between paying for people only hardcores have heard of versus the light heavyweight debut of Anderson Silva seems to me a very clear "either-or" proposition.

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Read More: ufc, affliction, anderson silva, james irvin

Comments

I really love my DVR right now.

by Gong on Jun 17, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

MMARated has quite a talent for “learning” their “scoops” just minutes after Meltzer reports the same items on his wrestling observer site.

by raidernationz on Jun 17, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Doubt it.

He was a producer at Spike. I bet he has some legit sources.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why do this?

by FRANKIE on Jun 17, 2008 6:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why do what?

Compete with the competition?

If it were my business, I sure as hell would!

all you gotta do is...

by imapimp08 on Jun 17, 2008 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, not that

Competing with the competition makes perfect sense. Why put this main event together? It’s just a stupid fight.

by FRANKIE on Jun 17, 2008 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah!

No one is gonna give Irvin a 2nd thought!

I say put him against Machida, if anyone is gonna hunt that an down, I think the Spider can! Plus he already got some exposure fighting the “BAD BOY” Ortiz. But I think they might be close friends, so that might not happen!

all you gotta do is...

by imapimp08 on Jun 17, 2008 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think they train together at Black House also.

by Tonley on Jun 17, 2008 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s a good match up for Silva and it’s his debut at 205. I see nothing wrong with it.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 17, 2008 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree. plus we can see him display his skills, love seeing him demolish people with his “ballet of violence.”

by Johann on Jun 18, 2008 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not saying

it’s a bad match up or anything, just that, Silva doesn’t really need to establish himself as a contender, we all know he is. I think they are treating Irvin as dispensable in this one. But for Irvin this is a great chance where the spot light is going to be on Anderson and he could very well be on the way to beating the best Pound for pound fighter in the world right now.

I’ll be pulling for Irvin!

all you gotta do is...

by imapimp08 on Jun 18, 2008 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ll be pulling for Silva if for no other reason that I’d like to see him fight some of the top guys at LHW. He already beat Henderson, but I think seeing him fight someone like Lidell in the future would be amazing. If he loses to Irvin, somehow it’s hard to see how he’d become a more constant or legitimate threat at LHW, not to mention the huge tarnish that I think it would immediately put on the claim that he’s the best pound for pound in the world. I think he’ll destroy Irvin, but Irvin does have knockout power and it only takes landing one good clean shot to pull off the big upset.

by Kierkegaard on Jun 18, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the UFC shouldn’t do a comp event on the same day. They should sell adverts to Affliction for the July 5th event. They should charge them a LOT of money. It doesn’t matter how much pub Affliction gets, they are going to fail in the long run. The UFC doesn’t need to help them fail They should milk them dry while they can. The first national bank of Affliction is now open for business, Withdrawl as much cash as you want for a limited time.

by szucconi on Jun 17, 2008 6:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am all for this, but......

Why move Anderson up now? and why against James Irvin? I just don’t understand, if your going to move your 185lb champ up a weight class, why have him fight a journeyman fighter? Why not either another champ or at least a top 5 contender? Just doesn’t make any sense to me. i look forward to the explanation for this matchup down the road.

by strictlymma.com on Jun 17, 2008 6:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Irvin is someone people know and a guy they have highlights for (Flying Knee KO). At the same time, they DO NOT want Silva to loss in his debut at LHW. He might loss at some point, but they want him to get some wins under his belt.

by szucconi on Jun 17, 2008 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also on the card...

is the Franca/Edgar Fight that was supposed to happen UFC 87. From MMArated.com:

Update: We’ve learned that this event will be dubbed “Ultimate Fight Night 14” and will be held in Las Vegas. In addition, a lightweight battle featuring Hermes Franca and Frankie Edgar has also been confirmed. Early reports that it will take place at the Palms Casino Resort are still unconfirmed. As of today, the UFC was planning on officially announcing the card during this Saturday’s “Ultimate Finale Live” broadcast on Spike TV.
Can’t wait to see who else is on the the free card

by Davey S. on Jun 17, 2008 6:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In addition to sinking affliction, this is really about promoting Anderson Silva. The whole special will be based around him, and upwards of 2 million people (probably) will see him move up to light heavyweight and decapitate James Irvin. Maybe this will help him finally reach the next level as a draw.

by Michael Rome on Jun 17, 2008 6:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

can’t hurt to put anderson on free tv, the folks who buy the ppv’s seem to avoid his headlined cards like the plague….. dana won’t let him make big $$$ by fighting Roy JOnes Jr…..so with him not drawing at MW, they will look to pair him up with some of the bigger box office guys at 205

by robnashville on Jun 17, 2008 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And to think, just a few months back, many of us were thinking it would be a good idea for Franklin to move up to 205. Well, I guess there is always 170, lol.

And so much for Silva/GSP anytime soon.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jun 17, 2008 7:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Haha it would be hilarious if Rich had moved up, than Anderson followed him up there.

And I’d rather see GSP fight BJ than Anderson.

by idefinecagefighter on Jun 17, 2008 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

funny, but not so for rich..

looks like he has nowhere to go… report says spider’s still defending his belt in the MW some time in the future.. and his playing with the big boys at 205 now.. how about going down to 185?

by Johann on Jun 18, 2008 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did you mean going down to 170? That’s probably not possible since he’s already an enormous 185er.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 18, 2008 1:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

it was`a joke, thus the “lol”.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jun 18, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wasn’t replying to your comment. Your comment was perfectly clear. I was replying to Johann’s comment.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 18, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah.. that’s what I meant.. :D

by Johann on Jun 19, 2008 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 19, 2008 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No prob..

by Johann on Jun 20, 2008 11:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So…much…MMA…

War Competition!!

by Tonley on Jun 17, 2008 7:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just imagine for a second if Irvin comes out with a flying knee or similar and knocks out Anderson…

Probably his best chance at getting his hand raised.

by idefinecagefighter on Jun 17, 2008 7:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So whats this mean for the middleweight title?

by TannerMatthews on Jun 17, 2008 7:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A middleweight title

Can only be on the line during a middleweight bout. Nothing happens to it for now.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 8:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know that silly

I meant that what happens to it if Anderson moves up and stays there. They’re not going to just freeze the belt. Does the fight that was rumored awhile ago between Henderson and Franklin become a title fight?

by TannerMatthews on Jun 17, 2008 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see

He’ll likely defend one or two more times and then vacate the title.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 8:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nooo......

Vacated titles make me sad…

I think they should disadvantage him until he loses the title, e.g fight with one arm tied behind your back, if he still wins, than with both… all the way until he’s tied up like a soon to be roasted piggy.

by -Sam on Jun 18, 2008 7:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Meltzer made a good point when he said that UFC shouldn’t bother programming against Affliction, but that they should program against EliteXC the following weekend.

On the one hand, you have a company with a lot of fighters hardcore fans recognize. On the other hand, you have one of the biggest stars in the sport in a company with a national television deal.

Is Dana that concerned about Tim Sylvia and Fedor eating his lunch? Far be it from me to doubt Dana White, but it seems like he’s letting the hardcore fans get the best of him on this one.

by Brett Jones on Jun 17, 2008 10:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs