Dana White Confirms July 19th UFC Event; Silva vs. Irvin To Headline
UFC President Dana White has confirmed to Yahoo! Sports that the UFC will indeed hold a special event on July 19th at The Pearl in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will air live on Spike TV, opposite of Affliction’s “Banned” pay-per-view featuring Tim Sylvia vs. Fedor Emelianenko, and will be headlined by Anderson Silva’s light heavyweight debut against James Irvin.
“I love this guy,” White told Yahoo! Sports about Silva. “He’ll fight anyone. He wants to fight six times a year. It makes my job harder but I love it. It’s the Titos (Ortiz) of the world that ruined the fight game. This guy and Chuck Liddell don’t care, they’ll fight whoever you put in front of them.”
MMAJunkie.com is reporting that the event will be titled UFC Fight Night 14 and that a Spike TV UFC event scheduled for September in Omaha, Nebraska, previously rumored to be UFC Fight Night 14, will be re-titled UFC Fight Night 15.
White also announced a televised lightweight bout between Hermes Franca, who will return to the octagon following a 12-month steroid suspension, and Frank Edgar. The bout was originally set to take place at UFC 87 in August.
Tomorrow at noon Pacific time (3pm ET) White will make the UFC’s so-called “major announcement” to the company’s staff. According to the report, White feels most fans will be disappointed by the announcement but personally feels it is “huge”, comparing the announcement he will make tomorrow to the UFC’s announcement of Bud Light as a major sponsor earlier this year.
For the latest rumors on the event check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.
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Tags: Anderson Silva, Frank Edgar, Hermes Franca, James Irvin
Another shot at Tito from Dana…
Out of curiosity, who here is going to watch affliction and who’s going to watch ufc? I’m watching ufc cause it’s free and I’m not willing to buy a ppv from an untested organization.
ufc
UFC and we have our future LHW champ now. His name is Anderson Silva. He has plenty of competition at LHW but I whole heartedly believe he can dominate the LHW division too. I do however question his strength compared to some others in the division. To me, Anderson seems to be the fighter who will go down in history as the most dominant fighter of his time. He is likely a future Hall of Famer and I feel bad for James Irvin.
Ufc cause I will download the affliction event the next day an watch it for free.
Both thanks to Tivo. I want to see how fedor does against Timmy. If Fedor loses I don’t want to miss it!
Ko…
I wouldn’t say that he will run through that division with total domination. I agree that he is a future hall of famer, but I think he may have trouble with some of the bigger guys that like to stand and bang. His style may be good for him, but it also puts him toe to toe with some of the best hands in MMA.
Ill watch the ufc one for sure Anderson silva and possibly brandon vera dropping to 205? Its a no brainer and FREEEEE
I will be recording Affliction while watching UFC. I am a die hard fan and will not miss a big event regardless of controversy between organizations. Don’t get me wrong, I will take the UFC’s side anyday for the mere fact that they have done the most with this sport. All of these other promotions are just riding the band wagon. Who knows though, maybe someday another organization will reign superior. I doubt it. The UFC has been doing it right from the beginning. They have had their ups and downs but the main difference between the UFC and others is that they have figured this thing out. I think that the only other organization that even stands a chance in this world is Elite XC. They need to fix some **** first *cough* Kimbo main fight *cough*.
I’ll be watching UFC and check the web for Affliction results. If it were reversed and Affliction was free and UFC PPV, I’d still watch UFC. UFC is a true MMA org, Affliction is a t-shirt company.
Watching Anderson Silva’s debut at a higher weight class is way better than paying $40 for a Tim Sylvia main event. Way better. I’d even pay more to see Silva but lucky for us it’s free.
Maybe Dana White putting on this show will get more viewers that initially thought.
Just from the few answers above, it seems that people could care less about the Affliction show and would much rather watch a true MMA show from the UFC.
Curtis,
I agree. I just won’t be surprised if he does run through the division either. This is Anderson’s time to truly prove he is P4P the best fighter.
Affliction is a true MMA show but I have a problem with the main event. Fedor is great and Tim is a bore to watch. I cannot wait for Tim to work his way down the rankings. If Fedor had another opponent I would be more tempted. I was undecided about buying the PPV until the announcement of Silva’s change in weight division.
If he does run through it he will be the man. That is the strongest division in all of MMA.
I am not sure about the Fedor fight. Tim is the best guy he has faced in a few years. If he hasn’t been training and Tim can keep it on his feet it could be upset city!
The Silva’s are slowly taking over the UFC LHW division.
RLT,
Easy killer…neither has the LHW belt….
I think Wand is 1 maybe 2 fights from a shot and Anderson may be about the same depending on who he fights and how he performs.
I’ll probably watch both.. but I do think that TRUE word is used way too much.. True MMA fans, True mma org.. How bout hardcore fans and more established mma org. I do however see Irvin somehow stepping out of this bout and possibly Vera stepping in. Maybe some sort of injury.
UFC UFC UFC UFC UFC UFC IS WHAT I’LL BE WATCHING
Sean,
Why do you think he will bow out?
But I will say, I would much rather see Vera vs. Silva…..
I just get don’t think that matchup plays in Silva’s favor based on quality of opponent… Irvine is a decent fighter but I think the injury that pulled him out of the Rashad fight a couple weeks ago will reoccur
WOW what a difference a day makes….The Vera fight would have been fun This is…comfortable.
I wonder if Anderson is moving up to LHW does this mean a possible move for the WEC middleweight showdown winner after 9/10.
D…… good thoughts…It is possible if the UFC’s announcement is that they will bring some of the WEC’s bigger weights over.
But with the way Dana white has been back peddling with the announcement I doubt it. We are all going to be disappointed I am almost positive.
I think the move by Dana and Spike TV, to run a free show to hurt another organization is bush league. The Affliction card is well worth the money. Luckily, I can TiVo the UFC event too. Dana cares about the UFC, not MMA or its future. If he did, Fedor would have been fighting Randy in the biggest MMA co-promotion ever.
Gonzo, Please take your Dana hate back to Sherdog where the rest of your kind lives. I don’t think anything Dana has done is “Bush League”. Simply competition, and Affliction wasn’t prepared for that they shouldn’t have started this promotion.
And Curtis, I wasn’t saying that the Silvas were going to be taking any belts anytime soon. Just joking about the possibility that a lot of important upcoming LHW fights will involve at least 1 of the Silvas. Thiago, Wand and Anderson
There are too many good LHW fighters. I actually am going to take Irvin in this one. Irvin has monster punching power. I guess we will see. I am a big Silva fan, but I dont think he is going to pul this one off
Im definitely watchin UFC, if affliction was on another day and was free Id check it out
brilliant move by dana considering how much it’s gonna cost affliction to put on this first show. the main event alone will cost a minimum 3 million from what i’ve heard and even without the ufc event i’ve already heard alot of people saying they might not watch. now with the that event, it’s gonna take away alot of fence riders and put afflicition in the hole by quite a bit. i really don’t see them turnin a profit which i’m sure they’re ready for, but i dunno to what extent. sure, dana and the fertidas blew threw alot of cash early on too, butttttt i don’t quite see affliction bein able to pull this off unless they get someone with real deep pockets that’s ready to stand by em for the long haul. i don’t see trump pouring money into a sinking ship for long.
im gonna flip back and forth between the primarily the ufc(only changing it for commercials) and the affliction fights that are on FSN thats wat this is all about affliction tried to tease u into buyin there ppv wit 2 of there undercard bouts on FSN and Dana White dont play that **** so to top there 2 free undercard bouts dana has come up wit a complete card for free with a more exciting main event then afflictions ppv main event hate both those guys(fedor and sylvia) and Anderson Silva at lhw against a dude who will stand wit him and who has big knockout power should b very interesting
thanks for the despamming kris. now the world can continue to know that i don’t like bisping ahahah.
affliction will be downloaded a couple days later, ufc will be watched if i have cable by then
FixXer,
If you are that confident you should go follow the link to the Bodog betting site on here and throw down some money. I imagine the odds are going to be ridiculously in favor of Silva.
pretty much what i expected. I want to see the fedor vs silvia fight though. Dana really screwed the affliction ppv by putting on a free event the same day. I’m glad.
Curtis,
Every fighter I pick to win, seems to lose. So I dont bet on fights haha.
Smart move by Dana and the UFC. The put the P4P #1 fighter in the world in a really intrigiing match up and a very DANGEROUS one at that. Irvin is no slouch by any means and he BIG power in his hands. He could very well KO Silva! This is a HUGE opportunity for Irvin to really make a statement and make some noise in the MMA World. He could become a household name over night by KOing the P4P King!
There are some many questions to be answered in this fight. How will Silva perform at this new weight…how hard will his punches and strikes be at 205…will the bigger stronger 205ers be able to take his punches better…will he be able to take a punch from the bigger stronger 205ers. We all know Irvin can punch, I curious to see how Silva reacts to being hit by him. Im curious to see how Irvin reacts after being punched, kicked and kneed by Silva…just the intrigue alone makes me want to tune in to the fight.
In addition to that, IT’S FREE! It makes me want to watch and not buy the Affliction fight. Then again, I may go ahead and get the affliction show and just flip back and forth between the to shows…I don’t know man! I do know one thing though, I sure would like to know what other fights the UFC are going to have on this card.
UFC definitely! i consider this to be a bigger announcement than that JAKKS toy announcement. imagine the future fights to come…
silva vs. jardine
silva vs. lidell
silva vs. rampage
silva vs. hendo (rematch this time at 205)
silva vs. wanderlei
silva vs. shogun
silva vs. griffin
silva vs. silva (thiago)
silva vs. evans
i don’t think he’ll fight machida though cause i think they train together or they’re close friends or something like that.
I’m really stoked for this fight !
I have a funny feeling Silva will loose
I bet the announement was the toy deal
goatly he wont lose go spider go
afflction card sucks COMPARED to any UFC card all the fighters are ones the ufc let go or never wanted! Exsept one and he is fighting one of the most boring fighters i have ever seen. Soooooo I am gunna watch UFC. This is a no brainer do you want to watch the best P4P in the world fight a guy with knock out power at a new weight class after he RAN through one wight class FOR FREE???
Or do you want to watch a 6′8 tim HUG his way through 5 rounds FOR $39.99????
AFLICTION GOING AGAINST UFC IS LIKE A 2nd GRADER WANTING TO FIGHT A 6th GRADER!!!!! AND WITH THIS FREE FIGHT NOW ITS LIKE THE 6th GRADER PUT ON BRASS KNUCKLES!
HA HA HA HA THATS FUNNY WINDMILLER
Notice that Dana softened the announcement a bit by saying it may be “disappointing to fans.” Good move on his part.
As for UFC vs Affliction. This one is easy…I will be watching both.
RLT, no disrespect to you , but I do admire Dana for how great he has made the sport. However, a good businessman he is not. He convinced the Fertitta brothers to pay $65 million dollars for the video catalog of Pride FC. That’s all they got. Dana should had kept that organization afloat in Japan, if he really carded about MMA, and not just the UFC. Competition will make the UFC better. The Affliction card will be great, I’m sure you’ll watch it, even if it’s free at your friend’s house or downloaded days later.
Affliction has the better more interesting fighters, with exception of Silva, I’ll be watching Affliction. Once again thank you tivo.
Gonzo,
The UFC had to take Pride out. Period. End of Story. In the world of MMA there was a huge bias against the UFC in comparison to Pride before MMA started blowing up here in the States. Pride had to go in order to make the UFC the big show. Dana may not be the best business man but he is the reason you an me can sit here typing back and forth about the business and world of MMA right now. Keeping Pride alive would not have hepled the UFC at all.
Kris,
I also recognize that you are a huge part of the reason we can sit here typing back and forth about the world of MMA. It is not all Dana White. Thank You.
I wonder what Dana would do if he really wanted to put someone out of business…
Dietrich,
My prediction may be a little premature but you may want to see what happens with Affliction. Hell, Dana didn’t even do anyting public and look what happend to the IFL. It reminds me of that South Park Episode where Cartman turns into a big green blob(UFC) because his crapper keeper is cursed. In his blob form he starts eating/absorbing everything around him until Rosie O’Donnell eventually is eaten by him and makes him so sick, his blob form dies. The Donald likes controversey with Rosie O’Donnell so maybe Dana can team up with Rosie to deliver the final KO to Affliction. He just has to be weary of Rosie’s strange powers.
We need another mma organization, that’s not uder UFC rule. We else can we see guys like Fedor, Arlovski, Tito, Barnett, Babalu, Sylvia, eventually Couture, etc. all UFC cast offs, well not Fedor on a big stage. I really hope Affliction makes it, since they are getting or trying to get 1st rate fighters.
If someone who reads this board does not watch Affliction and Fedor, they are not a real MMA Fan.
There is only 1 reason to was Affliction. Fedor !!
Dave,
I am a real MMA fan, I have been watching MMA for years and I watch some of the smaller shows as well as the UFC. But I am not paying $40 (or whatever it costs) to watch Affliction just because of 1 fighter. I think Affliction will put on a decent show, and I would personally like to see them succeed just so the UFC has some real competition, and then the sport will grow even more. Dana may not believe this, but competition is a good thing for MMA.
As for Affliction, I will probably download it a day or 2 after the event.
KOuch,
Dana + Rosie=Top drawer entertainment
Awesome post