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[twankydawg]

Good interview....

- SANDMAN HOPES TO PUT EVANS TO SLEEP
Saturday, April 26, 2008 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com

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As James Irvin celebrated his eight-second win over Houston Alexander, while his highlight reel “superman” punch littered the ESPN Sportcenter Top 10 plays, little did he know that less than a month later he’d be asked to fill in for Chuck Liddell to face light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans.

“Actually, I think I had a beer in my hands and I was still celebrating from knocking out Houston Alexander,” said Irvin in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio on Thursday. “I didn’t even see it coming, but I think as soon as they told me, I dropped the beer and decided I wanted to go train again.”

He takes the fight with Evans very seriously and accepted the bout with the utmost respect towards his new opponent.

“I’m just so happy that he would even take the fight against me,” Irvin commented. “I consider him an ‘A’ level fighter, and I consider myself a ‘C’ level fighter, maybe a ‘B’ level because I just beat Houston trying to claw my way up to the top. So for him to take a step down and fight me, I’m greatly appreciative of the guy, who is someone I look up to as one of those top tier fighters.”

Evans previously commented to MMAWeekly Radio that he believed Irvin was a dangerous opponent who creates new problems in the fight that even Liddell didn’t present.

“Not saying I’m better than Chuck, just that our styles are different,” stated Irvin. “Chuck seems to want to kind of take a punch to give two or three back and he’s on his heels back-peddling the whole time. He really lures people in. He’s just so accurate with his punches.

“I don’t want to take a punch. I don’t want people to get off on me first. So I kind of seem to explode on people and that’s usually when I have my best fights, when people give me room to jump on them, the way I did against Houston Alexander.”

For his training camp preparing for Evans, Irvin will spend the next month with the Fairtex team in Thailand before returning home to close out the last few weeks alongside UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Big Bear, Calif.

And while Irvin is looking forward to the opportunity to knock Evans out, he’s more than ready for the wrestling prowess that his opponent possesses.

“I’m anticipating him changing levels and trying to take me down. If anything, I’m going to try to catch him at those moments. I plan on getting taken down, I’d be dumb to say I think I’m not,” Irvin said. “I’m not going to keep him off of me, he’s too good of a wrestler. He’s too good of a topical fighter not to impose his will on me at least a few times. So I’m planning on getting up off the ground and getting up off my back. And if anything, I want to make him pay every time he does try to come in and grab a hold of me or close that gap on me.”

Irvin will be in Thailand for a month as he prepares to face Evans at UFC 85 on June 7 in London, which will now be headlined by a bout between former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and American Top Team fighter Thiago Alves.

Source

Very respectful guy, I'm really starting to like this guy.

[Severn]

HE'S fighting Evans?!

[Afro]

Evans by GnP TKO

[Problematique]

I think Evans wins, but I'll be pulling for Irvins.

[Bran]

I've never heard a fighter humble himself like that. Very respectful. A sharp contrast to his parking lot comments.

[Frag x 3]

Irvin is more of what this sport needs. He's a class act and I'm even more excited to see him go at it again. Ever since his flying-knee knockout 2 seconds into that second round, I've been a fan. Now that I've read this interview, I'm glad he's getting this shot at Evans.

As far as the headline goes, Evans puts me to sleep!

[scottsec]

Originally Posted by Bran

I've never heard a fighter humble himself like that. Very respectful. A sharp contrast to his parking lot comments.

The parking lot comment was in response to alexander saying the fight shouldnt have been stopped. He said "well we can go outside and finish in the parking lot"...Houston was being lame not Irvin. Ive always liked watching Irvin fight he usually brings an exciting fight. Flying knees make me happy...

[Bran]

Originally Posted by scottsec

The parking lot comment was in response to alexander saying the fight shouldnt have been stopped. He said "well we can go outside and finish in the parking lot"...Houston was being lame not Irvin. Ive always liked watching Irvin fight he usually brings an exciting fight. Flying knees make me happy...

yeah, i know. it was still a stupid comment though. didn't make me think less of irvin or anything, though.

[homegrowncone]

Wow, after how much respect Rashad gave Irvin ( to lazy to look it up but he was really respectful) and now this, both of these guys have impressed me with their maturity. 85 is shaping up nicely.

[Bran]

Originally Posted by homegrowncone

Wow, after how much respect Rashad gave Irvin ( to lazy to look it up but he was really respectful) and now this, both of these guys have impressed me with their maturity. 85 is shaping up nicely.

yeah, i'm actually a lot more excited than i was the last time it had a main event. i couldn't care less about chuck/rashad, but the addition of leben/bisping and hughes/alves, this has become a very interesting night of fights.