Report: Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin confirmed for UFC 85; Leben vs. Bisping rumored
April 23, 2008 by Adam Morgan
MMA Junkie is reporting that a rumored bout between Rashad Evans and James Irvin now appears to be official for UFC 85 according to a source close to one of the fighters. Irvin will step in to replace the injured Chuck Liddell, who made his exit from the card following a nasty right hamstring injury.
Also mentioned in the report is the possibility of a middleweight matchup between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben being added to the show as well. With the cancellation of Liddell, the UFC is scrambling to add fights to the card. MMA Mania reported yesterday that Leben was signed to fight in London, so this fight looks like a matter of when it will be announced, not if.
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Michael Bisping and Chris Leben should be a war and might be the fight of the night imo..
I would love to see that fight! Great test for Bisping!
yessssssssssss. so excited now.
everytime i think of Chris Leben, i think of the commentary before his fight with Anderson Silva…
i’m SERIOUSLY suprised that Irvin/Evans is official.. as good as Irvin is [I give him his credit] i wouldn’t be suprised if the typical UFC fans don’t even know who he is.. not a good choice..
I would pay money NOT to have to sit through Rashad Evans vs … anyone. Soon the UFC will have No Randy, no Ortiz, no Chuck (retirement), no AA, no Tim and we will be forced to have to put up with more of these type of cards. The average UFC card is dropping in standard as Elite XC and others are lifting their game. But having said that UFC 84 is excellent (the best card in UFC history for me) and I will gladly part with my money for it.
As for 85’s money that will go to Affliction.
At least Bisping vs Leban will be a good stand up fight, and I hope to God that they add this fight officially, cus Rashad Evans bores me in every fight he has had, I was only looking forward to that main event cus Chuck would have made it a stand up fight eliminating Rashad’s bore tactics, hopefully Irvin can do the same, but come on, Irvin isn’t on Chuck’s level so they’ve gotta improve this card.
I wouldn’t consider Rashad a boring fighter. In fact I think he’s a little underated. He’s very fast for a LHW and he’s a lot stronger than he looks. He has good wrestling skills and has shown signs of explosiveness. For a while he had a problem finishing fights but he has a few ko’s under his belt now. Sure the fight with Bisping was a snoozefest but Bisping is a tough fight. I was picking Liddell for sure but I was still giving Rashad a fighting chance. I’m not sure what is in the contracts but if I were Rashad I would not take this fight. He is on the verge of title contention and if Irvin catches him, the roles reverse. Irvin is on the verge and Rashad is a couple rungs down. They defenitely need a boost for this card. Bisping vs Leben would be the best choice.