As we mentioned earlier, James Irvin (14-4) will replace an injured Chuck Liddell and tangle with Rashad Evans (11-0-1) in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 85 at the O2 Arena in London, England, on June 7.
Liddell suffered a torn hamstring and would be unfit in time for the scheduled main event. He was originally booked to scrap with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua; however, he too was injured during training and was replaced by "Sugar."
Irvin was in action just this month ... although his fight with Houston Alexander at UFC Fight Night 13 didn't last too long. In fact, "The Sandman" registered the fasted knockout in UFC history, finishing the "Nebraskan Assassin" in only eight seconds.
It was a big win for Irvin who battled severe injuries and freak incidents inside the cage throughout his fight campaign in 2007.
Evans — season two heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) — is still undefeated since his stint on the mixed martial arts reality series. Stephan Bonnar, Jason Lambert and Michael Bisping are just a few of his notable wins.
He fought former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz to a disappointing draw at UFC 73: "Stacked" in July 2007. And a win — or a solid performance — against a highly regarded fighter such as Liddell would have landed him on the short list of top 205-pound title contenders.
Evans will have to now go through Irvin first.
To check out the latest UFC 85 card, which includes a possible last-minute main event between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, click here.
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