Brazilian Muay Thai champion Anderson Silva, who has been the UFC middleweight champion since October 14, 2006, will jump for the first time from middleweight to light heavyweight as he comes to blows with James "The Sandman" Irvin on Saturday, July 19 at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The much-awaited event will air live for the first time ever on the East and West coast on Spike TV.  The fight is scheduled to air at 9pm ET and 6pm PT,  for free on Spike TV.
 
"There has never been a better time to be a mixed martial arts fan," UFC president Dana White said in a statement.  "You get to see Anderson Silva fight for the first time ever as a light heavyweight against James 'The Sandman' Irvin, who just tied the record for fastest KO in UFC history with his destruction of Houston Alexander and whose flying knee KO of Terry Martin is an all-time highlight.  Silva has been unstoppable in the middleweight division, and now he is looking to test the waters in the light heavyweight division.  Fight fans on the West and East coast can see Silva vs. Irvin and a full lineup of great live matchups free on Spike TV Saturday, July 19."

Since defeating Rich Franklin in UFC 64: Unstoppable, where he won the title of UFC Middleweight Champion, Silva remains undefeated, having won all of his fights in two rounds or less. Most recently, he fought Dan Henderson at UFC 82: Pride of a Champion, which commenced on March 1 at Columbus, Ohio, and successfully defended his title.

Irvin, on the other hand, is a former World Extreme Cagefighting heavyweight champion who knocked out Houston Alexander in eight seconds at UFC Fight Night 13 with a superman punch, tying the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: UFC.com
(Image courtesy of UFC.com)