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Irvin to Replace Liddell?

As reported by Sherdog:

The 38-year-old Liddell (21-5) was set to fight Rashad Evans, himself a replacement for Mauricio Rua, at O2 Arena in the main event of UFC 85.

Multiple sources tell Sherdog.com that Sacramento, Calif.-based light heavyweight James Irvin could be the man to fill Liddell's large shoes, though the bout with Evans (11-0-1) has not been filled at this point.

I've never been the worlds biggest fan of quick turnarounds.  Irvin would be looking at about 2 months between his 8 second KO against Houston Alexander and the fight with Rashad.  I've seen a lot of boxers take the short notice call after getting a big win a month or two before and a lot of the time they struggle badly.

Fighters should be peaking for a fight the week that it takes place and then there is usually a  decompression period of a couple weeks afterward.  It isn't about how quickly the last fight went so much as the training leading up to the fight.

That being said, this would be pretty much the biggest fight that Irvin could realistically be put into at this point so turning it down wouldn't make a lot of sense.  And honestly I don't think it matters if he is peaking fully or not, Rashad would grind out a decision over him either way.

Update [2008-4-22 12:12:58 by Kid Nate]:

An even worse possible fallout comes from Adam Swift:

That bout may now have to wait till the Super Bowl Saturday show in 2009, assuming Liddell successfully recovers and can get by his next opponent. That could mean that the champion, either Jackson or Griffin, would fight only once in 2008.
I could see the UFC doing this because Liddell is such a huge draw, but it's self-defeating IMO because there are so many up and comers in the 205lb class -- the winner of Jardine/Wanderlei for one. Liddell is old and wearing out, they need to be building Rampage, their current champ, not holding him back so they can milk Liddell for one more big fight.

Update [2008-4-22 19:13:42 by Brent Brookhouse]: MMAWeekly is saying that while still unofficial they have confirmed the bout with both camps

Although the UFC has made no formal announcement, MMAWeekly.com was able to confirm that James Irvin has agreed to step in and face Evans on June 7 in London in Liddell’s absence. Sources close to both fighters’ camps acknowledged the bout.

0 recs | Comment 10 comments

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Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Perhaps this doesn't apply here, but this seems to me a situation where a few more stars in the roster enables the UFC to scramble better to make events. As it stands now, Irvin is about as far away from Liddell in popularity that it gets. Although I can see it now from Dana White: "This kid is a beast. Irvin KO'd Houston Alexander in 8 seconds. Not even Keith Jardine did this. If he can beat Rashad, we've got a new threat in the light heavyweight division."

by Luke Thomas on Apr 22, 2008 12:05 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Considering 2007 was a train wreck for Irvin I would be really surprised if he didn't take the fight and try and get as much work as possible. I don't see it as main event quality though but I don't know if there is anyone else able to take that fight on short notice, not already booked and reasonably recognizable seeing he was recently on free tv.

by pr0cs on Apr 22, 2008 12:10 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Its FAR from main event quality.

by Kid Nate on Apr 22, 2008 12:16 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
No on Irvin in a main event with Evans. Bisping is an option perhaps against Chris Leben.

by UFCmania on Apr 22, 2008 12:22 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
God spare me a Leben main event. Couldn't Bisping fight Quarry instead? Or maybe even Franklin?

by Kid Nate on Apr 22, 2008 12:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Bisping v. Quarry sounds like a Fight Night main event to me, but boy do I want to see that match now that you mention it.

I was running through possible replacements for Chuck last night, and the three that came to mind were James Irvin, Doug Marshall, and Brian Stann. With the news that the WEC Light Heavyweight division is going to be absorbed, we can more realistically consider those last two as possible replacements. However, Marshall probably has less name recognition than James Irvin right now, so we can eliminate him from contention.

Brian Stann is probably enough of a bigger star than Irvin to make salvage the main event status of the match (if we consider that Bisping v. Evans was a main event), but then I have no idea if the WEC is even available in England, so we discount that.

That leaves us with James Irvin, at which point the only storyline to build off of is the one suggested by Luke. It's mediocre at best, and to me relegates the match to semi-main event status, but then I am among the minority of people who will watch UFC 85 who are (more) interested in Brandon Vera v. Fabricio Werdum.

My other thought, which is probably the least likely option, is to swap Rashad v. whomever with Keith Jardine v. Wanderlei Silva. Too much fenagling required for that to happen, I figure. It's probably less likely that moving Tito to UFC 85 to rematch Rashad.

by Brett Jones on Apr 22, 2008 1:37 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Desperate times.  Give me Nog vs. Mir, or Nog vs. Arlovski if they can convince him to return.

by Popetastic on Apr 22, 2008 2:17 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
This card seems to be doomed. I really hope brandon vera knock that dude out.
Arun Smith

by Arse Kicker UK on Apr 22, 2008 3:40 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Irvin to Replace Liddell?
Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans.  How's that sound?

by Popetastic on Apr 22, 2008 5:13 PM EDT   0 recs

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