 UFC light heavyweight standout James Irvin (14-4) will face middleweight champion Anderson Silva who will make the trek from 185 lbs. to 205 lbs. in order to find a challenge. After cleaning out the middleweight division Silva is in dire need of big fights, Irvin, however, thinks that Silva is taking on more than he can handle.
“I see what Silva is doing. There’s no one left for him to beat up at 185,” said Irvin, “but I think he’d better off going down a weight class. He’s not going to be as strong as he was at 185 lbs. He won’t be able to bully anybody around.”
Irvin does admit that Silva possesses superior skills, but believes that the Brazilian superstar won't be strong enough to handle him.
“He’s a better fighter than me. He’s better all around than me,” said Irvin. “But I am bigger and stronger.”
Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, who trains daily with Silva told Fightline.com that he believes the move was inevitable and that strength will not be an issue.
"He's a big guy, man," said Noguiera. He's almost my size. He's like 210 now and he's all muscle so he won't have a problem at 205. He's very strong; he works a lot with the weights. He's much stronger now than the first time I met him. We started training together in 2002. He was like a real 185 then, but now he can be 205 easy. He can fight both 185 and 205. He can switch easy, no problem."
|
Email Updates
Email Story
Print Story