Dan Ige, who fought on short notice at UFC 303, will not return on July 20 due to injuries but aims to compete in a high-profile fight at UFC 306 in September.
If anyone was crazy enough to fight on four hours’ notice at UFC 303 and then turn around and compete again just a few weeks later, it would be Dan Ige. But that won’t be the case for his return to action.
The veteran featherweight made history when he accepted a fight against Diego Lopes just hours before setting foot in the octagon. He came up short in a decision, but Ige earned a ton of respect for his willingness to not only accept the fight but also give Lopes everything he could handle over three rounds.
Unfortunately, Ige did get banged up a little bit in the fight. This prevents him from returning on July 20 for his originally scheduled clash with Chepe Mariscal at a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas.
The good news? UFC CEO Dana White said he’s willing to give Ige and Lopes pretty much whatever they wanted next after both stepped up to save UFC 303.
“I mean, shit, at this very moment my f*cking leg hurts, but you never know,” Ige said with a laugh when speaking to MMA Fighting. “July 20 rolls around, I wake up, roll out of bed, and feel like fighting that day.”
“But realistically, I want to wait,” he added.
“I want to fight at the Sphere. My plan was to fight July 20 and call out an opponent for the Sphere.”
“What we did and getting Dana’s reassurance that we can have that… I’m going all-in on that.”
“We’ll see what happens. Is it Diego? Is it Yair [Rodriguez]? Is it Chepe? I don’t know.”
“Whoever it is, it’s going to be a big fight at the Sphere.”
UFC 306 takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. It’s also the second-ever Noche UFC event celebrating Mexican Independence Day.
White has repeatedly teased the massive investment he made in this event. He’s ensuring UFC pulls off one of the greatest cards in history inside the massive $2.3 billion arena.
That’s exactly why Ige wants to join that card. He’s open to whatever opponent UFC throws at him.
Rematch Possibility?
Could that potentially include a rematch against Lopes with both fighters getting a full training camp?
“You never know what’s going to happen from here on out,” Ige said of Lopes.
“We cemented our legacy right there.”
Do they fight again? “I don’t know.”
“He has tremendous respect for me as I do for him.”
That being said… could be fun.
Give them both time and opportunity to game plan.
Study each other.
Both weigh in at 145 so there are no weird variables.
“I’m not going to sit here and call him out like ‘I would have had you if I had two more minutes!’ Because it doesn’t matter.”
Guess we’ll just have to sit and wait.
The UFC is clever; they do their job very well.
Can get shit done in four hours!
They can make something happen.
Trust whatever they’re doing.
We’ll see what happens from here on out.
Over the past few years, Ige found an uncanny knack for calling specific opponents—and UFC granting his wish! That was his plan when he had a fight scheduled on July 20.
He hoped he’d call his shot again for UFC 306 in September.
Now? He feels like he’s earned goodwill with UFC and praise from fans puts him where he doesn’t need names anymore!
“I don’t believe I have to call out anyone,” says Ige.”Had I fought whoever on July 20 and won… I’d make that callout.”
“But doing what I just did [at UFC303], now I’ve got hype.”
“That’s what people do; steal people’s hype.”
I’ve seen Diego’s rise.”Love that fight!”
I want stardom! Fame!
“We’ve both got it now.”
You match me with anyone—big fight!
While dealing with sore leg right now…
No doubt he’ll be back soon enough!
Thanks short-notice fight at UFC303—new contract!
“I had one-off agreement specifically.”
Got new contract!
Paid more than ever!
Happy where I’m at!
UFC took care of me—always does.
Taking week recover body…
Back on horse soon!
No serious injuries…
Leg sore from kicks…
Outside of that—we’ll be good!
Good go when September rolls around!