CagePotato Presents: The James Irvin ‘Why Me?’ Timeline [INFOGRAPHIC]

In addition to being one of the least decision-prone fighters to ever grace the OctagonJames Irvin is also notorious for being the unluckiest bastard in the history of the sport. From poorly-timed injuries and ill-advised weight cuts to chemical misadventures and freak accidents, the Sandman has suffered through enough hardships to fill the careers of ten journeymen. So with the help of our friends at Havoc Store, we put together an illustrated timeline of the most unfortunate moments in Irvin’s MMA career, which you can check out after the jump.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and show some love to Havoc Store by visiting their blog or following them on Facebook. And James? You have our sympathy, dude.

In addition to being one of the least decision-prone fighters to ever grace the OctagonJames Irvin is also notorious for being the unluckiest bastard in the history of the sport. From poorly-timed injuries and ill-advised weight cuts to chemical misadventures and freak accidents, the Sandman has suffered through enough hardships to fill the careers of ten journeymen. So with the help of our friends at Havoc Store, we put together an illustrated timeline of the most unfortunate moments in Irvin’s MMA career, which you can check out after the jump.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and show some love to Havoc Store by visiting their blog or following them on Facebook. And James? You have our sympathy, dude.

(click image for larger version)

Frank Mir Injured, Out of November Strikeforce Fight With Daniel Cormier


(“Easy, Bubba. Easy. Okay, okay, tap tap tap…TAP! TAP! AHHHH FUUUUUUUCK!! Damn it! I have a fight coming up, you asshole! Why did you do that? Why?!?”)

And so, the 2012 UFC injury bug — which is now thought to be the result of a top-secret government experiment — escapes from the eight walls of the Octagon, and goes forth to inflict suffering on the rest of humanity. As first reported by Morency Sports TV, Frank Mir has been forced to withdraw from his November 3rd Strikeforce meeting with Daniel Cormier, due to an injury. MMAJunkie has confirmed the report, and says that Mir’s injury might be knee-related.

The heavyweight stunt-booking was scheduled to be Cormier’s last appearance in Strikeforce before moving to the UFC, so hopefully Zuffa will be able to hustle up a new opponent for him to keep his transition on schedule. Nothing has been reported yet, so I’m just going to throw out some names: Arlovski. Bonnar. Laupua. Just stop me if my matchmaking genius begins to overwhelm you.

We’ll update you when we know more.


(“Easy, Bubba. Easy. Okay, okay, tap tap tap…TAP! TAP! AHHHH FUUUUUUUCK!! Damn it! I have a fight coming up, you asshole! Why did you do that? Why?!?”)

And so, the 2012 UFC injury bug — which is now thought to be the result of a top-secret government experiment — escapes from the eight walls of the Octagon, and goes forth to inflict suffering on the rest of humanity. As first reported by Morency Sports TV, Frank Mir has been forced to withdraw from his November 3rd Strikeforce meeting with Daniel Cormier, due to an injury. MMAJunkie has confirmed the report, and says that Mir’s injury might be knee-related.

The heavyweight stunt-booking was scheduled to be Cormier’s last appearance in Strikeforce before moving to the UFC, so hopefully Zuffa will be able to hustle up a new opponent for him to keep his transition on schedule. Nothing has been reported yet, so I’m just going to throw out some names: Arlovski. Bonnar. Laupua. Just stop me if my matchmaking genius begins to overwhelm you.

We’ll update you when we know more.

UFC 149 Injury Report: Bibiano Fernandes Out, Koch Off the Card to Wait for Aldo [UPDATED]


(Fernandes came down with a sudden case of “wandering into Stockton by accident and getting his fuckin’ ass beat.”)

UPDATE, 11:46 a.m. ET: And now, Bibiano Fernandes is denying that he signed with the UFC in the first place. Huh…

How powerful is the 2012 UFC Injury Curse? It’s now attacking fighters who have just signed with the promotion. One week after DREAM bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes was inked to face Roland Delorme in his Octagon debut at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary), Bibi has withdrawn due to an injury suffered in training. Delorme is expected to remain on the UFC 149 card, against an opponent to be named later.

One big name who won’t be sticking around is Erik Koch, the featherweight contender who was originally slated to challenge for Jose Aldo’s belt at the event. Instead of taking a fight against a late-replacement, MMA Weekly reports that Koch will withdraw from the card and wait for Aldo to recover. Aldo reportedly suffered a thigh strain while preparing for the fight, and won’t be out for an extended period of time. But since Koch hasn’t competed since his decision win over Jonathan Brookins last September, he might be looking at a total layoff of a year or more — not an ideal situation when you’re heading into your first title fight.

Any guesses on who the UFC Injury Curse will strike next? You have to figure that at some point It will run out of fighters to ruin and move on to peripheral figures like ring girls and announcers. Please, please be careful with that thing, Bruce…


(Fernandes came down with a sudden case of “wandering into Stockton by accident and getting his fuckin’ ass beat.”)

UPDATE, 11:46 a.m. ET: And now, Bibiano Fernandes is denying that he signed with the UFC in the first place. Huh…

How powerful is the 2012 UFC Injury Curse? It’s now attacking fighters who have just signed with the promotion. One week after DREAM bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes was inked to face Roland Delorme in his Octagon debut at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary), Bibi has withdrawn due to an injury suffered in training. Delorme is expected to remain on the UFC 149 card, against an opponent to be named later.

One big name who won’t be sticking around is Erik Koch, the featherweight contender who was originally slated to challenge for Jose Aldo’s belt at the event. Instead of taking a fight against a late-replacement, MMA Weekly reports that Koch will withdraw from the card and wait for Aldo to recover. Aldo reportedly suffered a thigh strain while preparing for the fight, and won’t be out for an extended period of time. But since Koch hasn’t competed since his decision win over Jonathan Brookins last September, he might be looking at a total layoff of a year or more — not an ideal situation when you’re heading into your first title fight.

Any guesses on who the UFC Injury Curse will strike next? You have to figure that at some point It will run out of fighters to ruin and move on to peripheral figures like ring girls and announcers. Please, please be careful with that thing, Bruce…

And Now Michael Bisping Is Injured: UFC 149 Sets Up Lombard vs. Boetsch, UFC on FOX 4 Adds Shogun vs. Vera Headliner

Man, this ain’t even funny anymore. After a brutal two-week period that saw the injury withdrawals of Vitor Belfort, Chad Griggs, Thiago Silva, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Brian Stann (as well as supporting players like Pablo Garza and Edwin Figueroa), news broke late last night that UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is out of his meeting with Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) due to an undisclosed injury.

Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?

With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…

Man, this ain’t even funny anymore. After a brutal two-week period that saw the injury withdrawals of Vitor Belfort, Chad Griggs, Thiago Silva, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Brian Stann (as well as supporting players like Pablo Garza and Edwin Figueroa), news broke late last night that UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is out of his meeting with Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) due to an undisclosed injury.

Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?

With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…

The UFC has confirmed that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will now headline the card against Brandon Vera. Shogun is coming off his 2011 Fight of the Year against Dan Henderson at UFC 139 last November, while Vera most recently out-pointed Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 in October — his first victory in over two years. Before he was drafted for this card, Vera was originally supposed to face James Te-Huna at UFC on Fuel TV 4 on July 11th.

Does “The Truth” deserve a headlining spot on a major UFC card at this point? Probably not. But as you can see, the UFC is losing warm bodies on a daily basis, and their options are limited. Where’s your God reason and science now, Joe Silva?

Vitor Belfort Breaks Hand, Out of UFC 147 Main Event Against Wanderlei Silva


(Looks healthy to me. Rub some dirt on it and suck in that lip, kid. / Photo via @vitorbelfort)

When we finally get around to making our “Ten Top Injury-Cursed MMA Fighters of All Time” list, Vitor Belfort has to be in the top 3 based on the number of marquee fights that have been scrapped due to his horrifically bad luck. The UFC announced over the weekend that Belfort has suffered (another) broken hand in training, and won’t be able to fight Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147 (June 23rd; Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The event will go on as scheduled, with the Axe Murderer headlining against an opponent to be named later.

This isn’t just awful news for Vitor — it’s even worse news for UFC 147, which was originally supposed to be headlined by the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen mega-rematch. After that match was moved to Vegas, Jose Aldo was briefly considered for the headlining spot, before his title defense against Erik Koch was made official for UFC 149 in Calgary. The point is, Belfort vs. Silva might not have been enough to carry a pay-per-view in the first place, and now the card is almost completely at square one less than a month before showtime.

So who would you like to see step in against Wanderlei Silva? And should the UFC consider scrapping this card altogether?


(Looks healthy to me. Rub some dirt on it and suck in that lip, kid. / Photo via @vitorbelfort)

When we finally get around to making our “Ten Top Injury-Cursed MMA Fighters of All Time” list, Vitor Belfort has to be in the top 3 based on the number of marquee fights that have been scrapped due to his horrifically bad luck. The UFC announced over the weekend that Belfort has suffered (another) broken hand in training, and won’t be able to fight Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147 (June 23rd; Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The event will go on as scheduled, with the Axe Murderer headlining against an opponent to be named later.

This isn’t just awful news for Vitor — it’s even worse news for UFC 147, which was originally supposed to be headlined by the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen mega-rematch. After that match was moved to Vegas, Jose Aldo was briefly considered for the headlining spot, before his title defense against Erik Koch was made official for UFC 149 in Calgary. The point is, Belfort vs. Silva might not have been enough to carry a pay-per-view in the first place, and now the card is almost completely at square one less than a month before showtime.

So who would you like to see step in against Wanderlei Silva? And should the UFC consider scrapping this card altogether?

Paul Taylor is Within Eyeshot of Surpassing James Irvin as the Most Cursed MMA Fighter Ever


(At least we’ll always have the memories…) 

British lightweight Paul Taylor is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC…when he actually manages to make it into the cage. His ability to do so has become less and less frequent over the past few years, and it’s truly a shame for fans of a good old fashioned throwdown. Taylor was scheduled to return to action for the first time in over a year against Anthony Njokuani at UFC on FUEL 4, which goes down from the HP Pavillion in San Jose on July 11th, but word just broke that he has been forced to withdraw from the bout yet again, and will be replaced by Rafael Dos Anjos.

Although Taylor is an unspectacular 4-5 thus far in his UFC career, his victories include a most recent trouncing of Gabe Ruediger at 126, as well as entertaining victories over Peter Sobatta, Jess Liaudin, and Edilberto de Oliveira. Oddly enough, Taylor has earned his reputation and “Relentless” moniker by managing to be even more captivating in defeat, with his high-profile losses to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly, and Chris Lytle all earning him Fight of the Night bonuses at UFC 75, 80, and 89, respectively.

But ever since dropping to lightweight, Taylor has spent so much time nursing various injuries that even James Irvin is beginning to look like the picture of health in comparison. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but if you were to peruse over Taylor’s Wikipedia page, you would find that the phrase “was expected to face” appears more times than the phrase “won by.” Sad but true, folks.

Check out the full history of Taylor’s troubles after the jump. 


(At least we’ll always have the memories…) 

British lightweight Paul Taylor is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC…when he actually manages to make it into the cage. His ability to do so has become less and less frequent over the past few years, and it’s truly a shame for fans of a good old fashioned throwdown. Taylor was scheduled to return to action for the first time in over a year against Anthony Njokuani at UFC on FUEL 4, which goes down from the HP Pavillion in San Jose on July 11th, but word just broke that he has been forced to withdraw from the bout yet again, and will be replaced by Rafael Dos Anjos.

Although Taylor is an unspectacular 4-5 thus far in his UFC career, his victories include a most recent trouncing of Gabe Ruediger at 126, as well as entertaining victories over Peter Sobatta, Jess Liaudin, and Edilberto de Oliveira. Oddly enough, Taylor has earned his reputation and “Relentless” moniker by managing to be even more captivating in defeat, with his high-profile losses to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly, and Chris Lytle all earning him Fight of the Night bonuses at UFC 75, 80, and 89, respectively.

But ever since dropping to lightweight, Taylor has spent so much time nursing various injuries that even James Irvin is beginning to look like the picture of health in comparison. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but if you were to peruse over Taylor’s Wikipedia page, you would find that the phrase “was expected to face” appears more times than the phrase “won by.” Sad but true, folks.

Just check out his injury-ridden history:

-Taylor “was expected to face” John Gunderson at UFC 112, but was deemed medically unfit to fight after he came down with intense migraines as a result of his weight cut.

-He was next scheduled to face John Makdessi at UFC on Versus 5 in August of 2011, but both he and Makdessi were forced out of the bout with injuries (Talyor’s being a broken foot) and were replaced by Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliviera, respectively.

-Just days before his originally anticipated clash with Anthony Njokuani at UFC 138, Taylor again fell victim to injury, this time whiplash resulting from a rear-end collision.

As we mentioned, Taylor has already been replaced by Rafael Dos Anjos, who is fresh off a first round shellacking of Kamal Shalorus on the undercard of UFC on FUEL 3. After blistering “The Prince of Persia” with a head kick, Dos Anjos finished off Shalorus with a rear-naked choke that quickly erased most fans memories of his split decision loss to Gleison Tibau back at UFC 139.

Njokuani has also split his last two contests, most recently rebounding from a split decision loss to Danny Castillo at UFC 141 with an impressive unanimous decision nod over John Makdessi at UFC 145.

Who do you got for this one, Potato Nation? And more importantly, when the hell do you think we’ll ever see Taylor back in the octagon?

J. Jones