James Irvin: "...four other people in my weight class turned the opportunity down..."
FightersOnlyMagazine.com has an interview with UFC light heavyweight James Irvin in advance of his July 19 bout against UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who is making his 205-pound debut.
Irvin has a number of interesting quotes in the interview. For example, it appears that Irvin was the UFC's fifth choice for the bout (which should certainly spark a debate as to who choices one through four were):
"I was told that four other people in my weight class turned the opportunity down, I couldn't believe that.
About Silva's fighting style, Irvin says:
"I don't think he ever looks to take people down, it seems he likes to fight in the clinch. Well, that is my favourite thing, so I expect there will be a lot of knees and elbows exchanged."
About being the underdog, Irvin says:
"I prove betting guys wrong all the time - look at my fight with Houston Alexander (an 8-second knockout), I was the underdog there too."
For the full interview, head over to FightersOnlyMagazine.com.
(Photo of James Irvin courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
Comments
Those four other guys were
Those four other guys were pretty smart....
Notice how Irvin worded
Notice how Irvin worded that..."turned the OPPORTUNITY down"
I don't know why the 4 turned it down but it certainly is an opportunity. Defeat Silva and its a huge notch on the belt. I always hear fighters say "I will fight any one, any time" so how many no's does Dana hear behind closed doors? Pretty bad IMO to turn this fight down. Why wouldn't you want to be the one to defeat Silva?
Head of the MMAfia's Canadian Family - Canada Eh!
My prediction for the 4...
My prediction for the 4... #1 Wanderlei Silva, #2 Jardine, #3 Sokodjou, #4 Thiago Silva...
-The Captain