Pro Record
"The Sandman"
15-9-0
James Irvin
Photo Source: MMAWeekly.com
- Given Name: James Lee Irvin
- Professional MMA Record: 15-9-0, 2 NC (Win-Loss-Draw)
- Nickname: The Sandman
- Current Streak: 2 Losses
- Age: 33 | Date of Birth: 1978.09.12
- Last Fight: March 18, 2011
- Weight Class: Light Heavyweight | Last Weigh-In: 212.0 lbs
- Career Disclosed Earnings: $127,000 USD
- Height: 6'2" (188cm) | Reach: 74.0" (188cm)
- Gym/Affiliation: Capital City Fighting Alliance
- Born: Huntington Beach, California, United States
- Fighter Pages: Sherdog | Wikipedia | The UG | UFC.com
- Fighting out of: Citrus Heights, California
- Personal Pages:
| Consensus Rank | ||
| Your Rank | Register now to create your own rankings and influence the consensus lists. |
The first-ever WEC Heavyweight Champion, James Irvin went undefeated in his first seven fights, defeating the likes of Scott Smith and Bo Cantrell (twice) before debuting for the UFC in 2005. Since then, Irvin has emerged as an extremely powerful but inconsistent fighter in the light heavyweight division, holding wins over Doug Marshall, Terry Martin, and Houston Alexander amidst losses to some elite 205 pounders. His knockouts of Martin and Alexander are each all-time greats, Alexander's for its speed and Martin's for its concussive power.
Following the worst performance of his career--a vicious first-round knockout loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva--Irvin tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone, having developed an addiction to the powerful painkillers as a result of injuries suffered in training. Having proven himself capable of crowd-awing knockouts on multiple occasions in his career, the aptly-named “Sandman” is still searching for the fighting form he showed only a few years ago.
James Irvin MMA Fight Record
| Professional Results | Opponent | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Submission | Armlock | Mamed Khalidov | KSW 15 | 2011.03.18 |
| Cancelled Bout | Houston Alexander | Shark Fights 14 - Reason: Irvin CSAC Drug Test | 2011.03.11 |
| No Contest | Foul | Mike Crisman | Gladiator Challenge | 2011.01.29 |
|
Loss | Submission | Choke
1:33 Round 1 of 3 |
Jorge Oliveira
|
TPF 7: Deck the Halls
Main Event | Catchweight | 212 lbs |
2010.12.02 |
| Weigh-In: 212.0 lbs | |||
| Win | KO/TKO | Punch | Angel DeAnda | Rebel Fights | 2010.10.02 |
|
Loss | Submission | Choke
2:29 Round 1 of 3 |
Igor Pokrajac
Ref: Herb Dean |
UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko
Preliminary Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2010.08.01 |
| Odds: -170 Slight Favorite | Disclosed Pay: $20,000 Base | Weigh-In: 205.0 lbs | |||
|
Loss | KO/TKO | Punch
3:01 Round 1 of 3 |
Alessio Sakara
Ref: Josh Rosenthal |
UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs Jones
Main Card | Middleweight | 185 lbs |
2010.03.21 |
| Odds: -134 Slight Favorite | Disclosed Pay: $20,000 Base | Weigh-In: 185.0 lbs | |||
| Cancelled Bout | Wilson Gouveia | UFC 102 - Reason: Irvin Knee Injury | 2009.08.29 |
| Cancelled Bout | Drew McFedries | UFC 98 - Reason: Irvin Knee Injury | 2009.05.23 |
|
Loss | KO/TKO | Punches
1:01 Round 1 of 3 |
Anderson Silva
Ref: Mario Yamasaki |
UFC Fight Night 14: Silva vs. Irvin
Main Event | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2008.07.19 |
| Odds: +413 Heavy Underdog | Disclosed Pay: $20,000 Base | Weigh-In: 206.0 lbs | |||
|
#53 Greatest Knockout of All Time
#42 Greatest Light Heavy MMA Fight of All Time |
|||
| Cancelled Bout | Rashad Evans | UFC 85 - Reason: Irvin Foot Injury | 2008.06.07 |
|
Win | KO/TKO | Punch
0:08 Round 1 of 3 |
Houston Alexander
Ref: Steve Mazzagatti |
UFC Fight Night 13: Florian vs. Lauzon
Main Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2008.04.02 |
| Odds: +233 Moderate Underdog Upset Victory | Disclosed Pay: $20,000 KO/Night | Weigh-In: 205.0 lbs | |||
|
#89 Greatest Knockout of All Time
UFC Fight Night 13 Knockout of the Night |
|||
|
Win | Disqualificaton | Foul
1:51 Round 1 of 3 |
Luiz Cane
Ref: Steve Mazzagatti |
UFC 79: Nemesis
Preliminary Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2007.12.29 |
| Odds: +158 Slight Underdog | Disclosed Pay: $16,000 ($8K Base, $8K Bonus) | Weigh-In: 205.0 lbs | |||
|
Loss | KO/TKO | Injury
1:06 Round 1 of 3 |
Thiago Silva
Ref: Herb Dean |
UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson
Preliminary Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2007.05.26 |
| Disclosed Pay: $7,000 Base | Weigh-In: 204.0 lbs | |||
|
Win | KO/TKO | Strikes
2:36 Round 2 of 3, 7:36 Total |
Hector Ramirez
Ref: Mario Yamasaki |
UFC 65: Bad Intentions
Preliminary Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2006.11.18 |
| Disclosed Pay: $10,000 ($5K Base, $5K Bonus) | Weigh-In: 205.5 lbs | |||
| Win | Submission | Armlock | Gary LaFranchi | Valor Fighting | 2006.09.15 |
|
No Contest
0:17 Round 1 of 3 |
Bobby Southworth
|
Strikeforce: Revenge
Main Card | Catchweight | 210 lbs |
2006.06.09 |
| Weigh-In: 209.5 lbs | |||
| Win | Decision | Unanimous | William Hill | IFC | 2006.04.01 |
| Loss | Decision | Unanimous | Lodune Sincaid | WEC 19 | 2006.03.17 |
|
Loss | Submission | Shoulder
4:30 Round 1 of 3 |
Stephan Bonnar
Ref: Herb Dean |
UFC Fight Night 3
Main Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2006.01.16 |
| Odds: +145 Slight Underdog | Disclosed Pay: $5,000 Base | Weigh-In: 204.0 lbs | |||
|
Win | KO/TKO | Knee
0:09 Round 2 of 3, 5:09 Total |
Terry Martin
Ref: Steve Mazzagatti |
UFC 54: Boiling Point
Preliminary Card | Light Heavyweight | 205 lbs |
2005.08.20 |
| Odds: -110 Near Even | Disclosed Pay: $6,000 ($3K Base, $3K Bonus) | Weigh-In: 205.0 lbs | |||
|
#45 Greatest Knockout of All Time
|
|||
| Win | KO/TKO | Knee | Doug Marshall | WEC 15 | 2005.05.19 |
|
Loss | KO/TKO | Punch
1:55 Round 1 of 3 |
Mike Kyle
Ref: Herb Dean |
UFC 51: Super Saturday
Preliminary Card | Heavyweight | 265 lbs |
2005.02.05 |
| Odds: -130 Slight Favorite | Disclosed Pay: $3,000 Base | Weigh-In: 224.0 lbs | |||
| Win | KO/TKO | Punch | Houssain Oushani | WEC 12 | 2004.10.21 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Punches | Jody Poff | WEC 11 | 2004.08.20 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Punches | Bo Cantrell | GC 24 | 2004.03.20 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Punch | Scott Smith | GC 22 | 2004.02.12 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Injury | Pete Werve | GC 20 | 2003.11.13 |
| Win | Submission | Armlock | Allen Scoville | GC 18 | 2003.08.21 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Strikes | Bo Cantrell | GC 16 | 2003.06.01 |
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