UFC on Versus Preview: Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin

Alessio "Legionarious" Sakara (14-7-1, 5-4-1 UFC) vs. James "The Sandman" Irvin (14-5-1, 4-4 UFC)

The Story So Far

In one of the card's featured attractions, heavy-handed sluggers James Irvin and Alessio Sakara meet in what is sure to be an explosive affair.

After having relatively mixed success in the Octagon since his debut at UFC 55, Alessio Sakara has put together back-to-back wins for the first time since early 2005. After claiming a disputed split decision win over Thales Leites at UFC 101, Sakara was supposed to face Rousimar Palhares at the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale this December but had to withdraw after suffering an injury.  

It's been quite awhile since we last saw James Irvin in action. "The Sandman" has battled through two nasty knee injuries which forced him to back out of his last two scheduled bouts. Amassing a record of 2-2 in his last four UFC bouts, Irvin holds a DQ win over Luis Cane in addition to his eight-second destruction of Houston Alexander, as well as a brutal KO loss to Anderson Silva during his last performance at UFN 14 in July 2008.

Conventional Wisdom

Well, this isn't exactly rocket science. Put two guys in the cage who love to stand and bang and sit back and watch the fireworks. This bout really is a perfect opportunity to draw in that casual fanbase who love to see nothing but stand-up brawls. Don't expect to see any flying armbars in this one as this bout should quickly turn into a full-blown slugfest.

WKR Analysis

The key to this fight for Alessio Sakara is to utilize kicks in order to keep Irvin at bay and wear down his opponent's explosiveness. "Legionarius" definitely has one-punch KO power but he has also been blitzed at times. While I'm not suggesting that his chin is Jardine-like, its sturdiness is still somewhat questionable. Sakara needs to stay on the outside and use his reach advantage to jab in order to set up his power punches.

A huge question mark in this fight is what kind of condition Irvin will be in come fight time. This is a guy who is recovering from both a painkiller addiction and a serious knee injury. Obviously, ring rust will be a factor for "The Sandman" who has been absent from the cage for close to two long years. Irvin's long hiatus will likely present some cardio issues for him, as is typical for a fighter returning from a knee injury (see Bader, Ryan) since they aren't able to train as hard as they'd like for fear of re-injuring it -- something Irvin has already done once.

However, this fight really shouldn't test either man's cardio as both men have only gone to decision eight times in 42 combined fights. That's why I have this fight ending early... and in devastating fashion.   

Fun Fact

Count Alessio Sakara among the many who would love it if the UFC were to hold an event in Italy. Sakara's record is 6-0 when fighting in his native country.