(Seven pounds over, and dropping his shorts just in case. Positivity’s a great thing, James, but sometimes you have to meet it halfway. Props: mmanewspl)

Just two weeks after it was announced that he blew a steroid test back in California, cursed UFC veteran James Irvin was back in action last night in the main event of KSW 15 in Warsaw. And if you thought this would a redemptive performance for the Sandman, then buddy, you don’t know James Irvin. The bout was held at a catchweight after Irvin came in juuuuuust a bit heavy for his scheduled middleweight title fight against Mamed Khalidov. His initial weigh-in tipped the scales at 197 pounds — 12 over the limit — but after four hours in the sauna, Irvin managed to get down to 192, and the match went on at a catchweight — with the middleweight belt still on the line, for some reason.

Anyway, the numbers don’t really matter. Khalidov opened the bout with a spinning back kick (as he tends to do), then dropped to his back when it didn’t connect. Irvin dived on for some ground-and-pound, and was immediately caught in an armbar. The fight was over in 33 seconds. On the bright side, Irvin didn’t leave the fight badly injured, as we assumed he would. Hopefully that’s the last time that Irvin accepts a fight at middleweight…on short notice…overseas…against a really tough opponent…when he has a drug suspension hanging over his head.

…really?

In the spirit of covering real news this weekend, we kind of overlooked some fights that are rumored to be going down at KSW 15 in Warsaw, Poland on March 19. I’m sure you’ll get over it. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Mariusz Pudzianowski is rumored to be on this one. According to a report on Five Ounces of Pain, his opponent will be heavy handed British journeyman James Thompson. Fight of the year candidate? Probably not. Decent slugfest? Sure.

More notable than that, though, is that James Irvin is also rumored to be involved with this card. You may remember that James Irvin was recently pulled from a Shark Fights card due to a suspension from the CSAC over a positive steroid test. Because Poland does not have an athletic commission, Irvin is free to fight there. However, he is still subject to repercussions back in America.