James Irvin Faces Suspension After Positive Steroid Test [UPDATED]
You know, at a certain point you’re just creating your own bad luck. It was reported yesterday that famously cursed MMA fighter James Irvin will not be meeting Houston Alexander in the co-main event of Shark Fights 14, as he was flagged by the California State Athletic Commission for the steroid epitrenbolone following his December 2 loss against Jorge Oliveira. Irvin faces a fine as well as a one-year suspension that would retroactively begin on December 3rd. In 2008, Irvin caught a nine-month suspension for the use of unapproved painkillers following his loss to Anderson Silva.
As it so happens, the Irvin/Alexander rematch wouldn’t have taken place anyway, since Alexander has apparently suffered an undisclosed injury in training. Shark Fights is currently booking a replacement for the match, and plans to re-schedule the fight when the Sandman and the Assassin are available again. [UPDATE: Tara LaRosa vs. Carina Damm has been confirmed as the replacement co-headliner.] I guess it’s as good a time as any to update the James Irvin “Why Me?” Timeline…
— 6/9/06: A Strikeforce match between Irvin and Bobby Southworth ends in a no-contest after both fighters fell out of the cage. Irvin screwed up his left leg during the tumble and couldn’t continue fighting.
— 5/26/07: Irvin tears the ACL and MCL of his right knee during a UFC 71 match against Thiago Silva, and the fight is ruled a TKO victory for Silva.
— 12/29/07: Irvin takes an illegal knee from Luiz Cane during their fight at UFC 79; Irvin is awarded the DQ victory when he can’t continue fighting.
— 5/20/08: Irvin is forced to pull out of a UFC 85 match against Rashad Evans due to a broken foot.
— 7/19/08: Irvin gets knocked out by Anderson Silva in 61 seconds at UFC Fight Night 14.
— 7/29/08: Irvin is suspended from competition for nine months after testing positive for methadone and oxymorphone following the Silva fight. Irvin said he was taking the meds to mask the pain of his previous foot injury, and later admitted to a dependency on the drugs.
— 4/29/09: Irvin is forced to pull out of a UFC 98 match against Drew McFedries due to a torn meniscus in his knee.
— 8/3/09: Irvin is forced to pull out of a UFC 102 match against Wilson Gouveia due to another knee injury.
— 3/20-21/10: Irvin drops to middleweight for UFC on Versus 1, comes into the fight looking like this, and leaves the fight looking like this.
— 8/1/10: The UFC gives Irvin one last chance to prove himself, and he takes his third-straight first-round loss against Igor Pokrajac.
— 12/2/10: Despite the use of performance-enhancing drugs, James Irvin is submitted in 93 seconds by some random dude.
— 1/29/11: A tune-up fight against Mike Crisman ends in a no-contest due to an illegal knee from Irvin.
— 3/2/11: Irvin is hit with the second suspension of his MMA career after testing positive for steroids following the Oliveira fight.
