James Irvin to face Wilson Gouveia at UFC 102

With Chael Sonnen being pulled from his UFC 102 bout with Wilson Gouveia to face off with Dan Miller at UFC 98, James Irvin has recently been tabbed as his replacement against the dangerous American Top Team trained fighter.

The bout has recently been confirmed in a report by MMAweekly.com.

UFC 102 will take place on August 29 from Portland, Oregon and is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight match-up between former UFC champions Randy Couture and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Irvin was recently forced out of a scheduled UFC 98 bout with Drew McFedries due to a torn miniscus. He is expected to rehab the injured knee for five weeks before he can return to regular training for the bout against Gouveia.

“The Sandman” will be looking to return to his winning ways after being stopped by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a light heavyweight contest that was held in July of 2008. Prior to that loss Irvin had knocked out Houston Alexander at UFC Fight Night 13 in just eight short seconds.

Gouveia was looking impressive following back to back stoppage victories over Ryan Jensen and Jason MacDonald before being stopped himself by TKO in his most recent bout against Nate Marquardt at UFC 95.

Both men are highly regarded for their finishing capabilities and the bout is sure to be one of the most electrifying on the card.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Junior dos Santos vs. Justin McCully

James Irvin vs. Wilson Gouveia

Mark Munoz vs. Nick Catone

Evan Dunham vs. Matt Veach