Another UFC Fight Night is in the books and the consensus best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, stepped up a weight class and absolutely demolished James Irvin in devastating fashion. Overall I thought it was a good show, nothing special, but an entertaining show with some good matchups, a crazy submission, and a dominant champion showing the world that not only can he beat the best in his weight class but that he has no problem stepping up in weight to kick some ass there as well. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Anderson Silva took care of business.

And really, that’s what he was supposed to do, right? Maybe it would have benefited the UFC a little more if the fight had lasted longer but they gave America a free dose of the most dominant mixed martial artist in the game right now and he gave them the knockout that everyone was expecting. Other than that, the fight was more or less meaningless. It was used to try and build Silva as a draw as well as compete with Affliction’s card on the same night by putting the consensus #1 fighter in the world on basic cable. As for this win helping solidify Silva’s pound for pound status, I guess you can say that it only helped. But because he cuts so much weight to get down to 185 lbs. and because James Irvin is, well, James Irvin, I don’t put too much stock into it. Now, if Silva were to beat a top level 205 lbs. fighter? Then you might have my attention.

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The intentions for putting together UFC Fight Night 14 might not have been the best, but for six weeks notice, this is a very solid UFN card.

The show, which will air on Spike TV (check local listings) this Saturday at 9 p.m. ET, will offer not one, but two anticipated moves to the light heavyweight division that could have major implications at 205 pounds in the UFC. If UFC light heavyweight first-timers Anderson Silva and Brandon Vera are successful in their debuts, it will open up a lot of new possibilities within the division.

In addition to getting a free look at the move to light heavyweight by both Silva and Vera, MMA fans will be treated to a glimpse at rising prospects Cain Velasquez and Anthony Johnson. For Velasquez, he has already captivated the attention of many diehard fans. However, a big win on Spike TV in front of a national audience could help make him a bigger star.

Johnson already received a “Spike” boost when his knockout of Tommy Speer just 0:51 into round 1 was shown on a delay basis during UFC Fight Night 13. Is he ready to make the move into the UFC’s welterweight elite? That remains to be seen. While he’s a dangerous puncher, there are still some questions that need to be answered about his ground game.

Also featured will be a lightweight bout between Frankie Edgar and Hermes Franca and a middleweight bout between C.B. Dollaway and Jesse Taylor. All four fighters need to win badly but only two of them can walk away with their hands raised.

Join us as we break down that fight and more during 5 Oz. of Pain’s UFC Fight 14 preview (just click below).

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James Irvin sure is confident about his chances going into the fight with Anderson Silva on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 14 and who can blame him? He’s got nothing to lose, everything to gain, and he is a solid striker with good power, so why not be confident. But this might be pushing it. From Sherdog:

“There’s no way he’s coming to take me down. I fully expect him coming to punch and kick me. He’s coming to make a point,” Irvin said. “My striking is much more refined. If I’ve gotta take three strikes to one, then I’ll take his 30 to land my 10.”

All I know is, Anderson Silva is extremely technical with his strikes, deadly accurate, and has very deceiving power. If Irvin gets caught with thirty clean punches from Silva, chances are that he’s more than likely going to be lights out on the floor. I don’t know if Irvin missed math class, but thirty punches to ten punches is a terrible ratio for him, especially against a striker like Silva.

I think Silva’s shown us on more than one occasion that his power is just scary, especially for someone who doesn’t look powerful. He’s devastated guys with great chins like Chris Leben and Dan Henderson and I expect him to do the same to Irvin. Props to Irvin for taking the fight on six weeks’ notice and stepping up to face the most dangerous man on the planet right now. The line to fight Anderson Silva is extremely short and to not only step up and fight him, but to fight him on short notice is ballsy. But underestimating Silva’s power, as we’ve seen in the past, is a terrible mistake.

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MMA Junkie has gotten word that the UFC have re-signed Jake O’Brien and that he will take on undefeated heavyweight prospect, Cain Velasquez at the newly created UFC Fight Night 14 scheduled for July 19th.

If you remember, Jake O’Brien’s contract was cut after his loss to former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski earlier this year. There was a small outcry over the UFC’s hasty decision to cut the fighter but it was more or less drowned out by the “good riddances” from many a fan who were against O’Brien’s stalling tactics while inside the cage. However it looks like when it comes to filling a fight card on short notice it seems certain past indiscretions can be forgotten.

Velasquez made his UFC debut on the un-televised portion of UFC 83. He made very quick work of Australian, Brad Morris winning by first round TKO.

UFC Fight Night 14 will be headlined by a light heavyweight contest between current UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva and James Irvin.

Check out more UFC content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

Plans remain in motion for a live UFC special on Spike TV scheduled for July 19. According to Ariel Helwani of MMARated.com, the main event for the show will feature the debut of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at light heavyweight.The site is reporting that Silva’s debut at 205 pounds will come against James Irvin.

Sherdog.com reported on Monday that a light heavyweight main event consisting of Wanderlei Silva vs. Brandon Vera had been on the table. However, recent indications are that Silva declined the bout because it was on such short notice.

The UFC is believed to be looking to run a show on such short notice as a way to counter-program Affliction’s inaugural MMA show the same night on pay-per-view.

As if this card didn’t have enough problems already, James Irvin, who had originally stepped up to replaced the injured Chuck Liddell in a bout against Rashad Evans, is now sidelined with a broken foot according to UFC.com.

Stepping in for Irvin will be Luiz Cane, the light heavyweight who was disqualified earlier this year in a bout against Irvin for an illegal knee to the head on the ground. Cane was originally scheduled to face Jason Lambert on the card but has been moved up to face Evans. No word on whether they will find another opponent for Lambert or not.

I will be glad to see this card actually take place because, at this point, the whole damn thing could get canceled and it wouldn’t be a surprise to me.

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.

Check out more UFC 85 content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com!

The UFC 85 fight card has been shuffled somewhat, with James Irvin replacing the injured Chuck Liddell (torn hamstring). The UK crowd is still in for a solid show on June 7th. Several fighters (Vera, Irvin, Swick, Leites, Tavares) can take a big step up the ladder with convincing victories.

Main Card

• Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin
• Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
• Michal Bisping vs. Chris Leben
• Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
• Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
• Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
• Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
• Luiz Cane vs. Jason Lambert
• Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
• Paul Taylor vs. Jess Liaudin
• Antoni Hardonk vs. Neil Wain

Not all fights confirmed by UFC.com

Check out more UFC 85 content on Five Ounces of Pain.

That could be the case according to Sherdog:

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.

James Irvin? Really? He just fought on April 2 on the UFC Fight Night card. Granted, the fight was only 8 seconds long and he didn’t even break a sweat, but that is a pretty quick turnaround. It’s especially quick considering that he would be fighting a wrestler the caliber of Rashad Evans. One would think that Irvin would want a full training camp for such a big fight, but when opportunity knocks I guess you have to take it. Just don’t try to sell this fight to me or anybody else as the main event for this card or the UFC will have hell to pay.

All fighters make weight for tomorrow night’s event:

Preliminary Card

Tommy Speer (170) vs Anthony Johnson (169.5)
Roman Mitichyan (170.5) vs George Sotiropoulos (169.5)
Marcus Aurelio (154.5) vs Ryan Roberts (155.5)
Josh Neer (156) vs Din Thomas (155)
Clay Guida (156) vs Samy Schiavo (155)
Manvel Gamburyan (155.5) vs Jeff Cox (155)

Main Card

James Irvin (205) vs Houston Alexander (205)
Gray Maynard (155) vs Frankie Edgar (155.5)
Tim Boetsch (206) vs Matt Hamill (204)
Nate Diaz (156) vs Kurt Pellegrino (155)
Karo Parisyan (171) vs Thiago Alves (171)
Kenny Florian (155.5) vs Joe Lauzon (156)

Main card action will air live tomorrow night on Spike from 7pm-10pm, immediately followed by the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest.

MMA Weekly reports:

Houston Alexander will return to Ultimate Fighting Championship action on April 2. MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with sources close to the fight that he will face James Irvin as a part of the main card of the upcoming UFC Fight Night leading into the seventh installment of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

This is a fight that was announced awhile back as part of a possible March 8th card in England, one week after UFC 82. Since that card seems to be botched at this point, lots of fighters are getting moved around to other cards. This should be a slugfest and a fight that’s tailor made for Houston to win, especially if it stays standing. UFC Fight Night 13 is turning into a very high caliber event, better on paper than some of the pay per views last year.

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It’s just ridonkulous how much news is surfacing this week about upcoming events. News is coming out of the freakin’ woodwork here. MMA Junkie’s now got another scoop, this one involving Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin at UFC 83 in London, England:

A source close to Houston Alexander (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the UFC light heavyweight has accepted a fight with James Irvin (13-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and is simply awaiting word on whether Irvin’s camp will green-light the bout.

Prepare for some punches to be thrown. Both are strikers so both will probably look to keep the fight standing. While Irvin has a lot of experience, look for the explosiveness of Houston Alexander to take over during this fight and put Houston back on the winning track. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Houston’s not going up against any BJJ black belts again. The UFC learned its lesson once.

Check out more UFC 83 and Houston Alexander content on FiveOuncesofPain.com

UFCjunkie.com has posted an interview it recently conducted with UFC middleweight Terry Martin. In the interview Martin accuses James Irvin of using steroids but really doesn’t have much factual evidence to go on:

UFCjunkie.com: So if you had the chance to fight Irvin again, you would?
Terry Martin: We’re headed in two different directions. I told people that guy sucked. He was lucky. What about that last fight? He was fighting and all the sudden his knee blows out? Like that? I don’t want to say it, but…

UFCjunkie.com: So you think he may have been on something? Steroids perhaps?
Terry Martin: Oh, come on now. You know that. No one’s knee goes out like that. And look at him. You know and I know that no body is shaped like that naturally — maybe close to that, but nobody has a body like that.

UFCjunkie.com: So you’re basing it off his looks alone?
Paper-thin skin and everything. Something’s going on. He’s was up to something.

Martin also revealed that he has signed a new four fight contract. He became a free agent after his last fight and the print edition of the Wrestling Observer reported that BodogFIGHT was interested in Martin’s services.

Martin has been impressive since dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight and with the current landscape of the division, he could earn a shot at the title with a win over Chris Leben at UFC Fight Night 11 on September 19.

Click here to read the entire interview.