Part of the reason the UFC and MMA has done so well in general (apart from the fact that watching ridiculously talented athletes attempt to brutalize the other is effin entertaining), is because consistently not just the champions or up-and-coming prospects get showcased. Why is this good? Well, because often the fighters that get airtime are damn exciting to watch; you know, the Chris Lytle’s of the world, guys that because they throw down each and every time they’re in the cage, you lose your voice for 2 days from screaming.
Well another fine example of this exact scenario is this Sunday’s scheduled middleweight tilt between James Irvin and Alessio Sakara, which will be broadcast on the first UFC / Versus card. No, neither guy is considered a world beater or resides at the top of the rankings. But, due to the fact that if you’ve seen either guy fight, your consciousness blurts out ‘striker’when you hear their name, the UFC is broadcasting the bout. Speaking on UFC.com, both Irvin and Sakara acknowledged, that their respective skill sets should make for one hell of a fight (thanks to MMA Fighting for the heads up):
“We match up so stylistically together that I think it’s going to be a great fight — it can’t not be a good fight,” Irvin says. “We know what we’re good at and we stick to it. We don’t try to do different things.”
For the entire interview and some sweet highlights (particularly Irvin’s 8 second Superman Punch KO of Houston Alexander) click here. To bet on the bout head here.