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, which 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 is 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. July 20 rolls around, I wake up, roll out of bed, and feel like fighting that day,” Ige said with a laugh when speaking to MMA Fighting. “But, realistically, I want to wait.
“I want to fight at the Sphere. I think my plan was to fight July 20 and call out an opponent for the Sphere. I just think it makes sense. 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. I think we’ll get a big fight. Whoever it is, is going to be a big fight at the Sphere.”
UFC 306, which is also the second-ever Noche UFC event to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
White has repeatedly teased the massive investment he made in the event to ensure 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, and he’s open to whatever opponent UFC throws at him.
Could that potentially include a rematch against Lopes with both fighters getting a full training camp to actually prepare for each other?
“You never know what’s going to happen from here on out, but we cemented our legacy right there,” Ige said of Lopes. “Do we fight again? I don’t know. He has a tremendous amount of respect for me, as I do for him. That being said, it could be fun. You give us both time and opportunity to game plan, to study each other, to both weigh in at 145 so there’s 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.
“I guess we’ve just got to sit and wait and see what happens. The UFC is clever and obviously they do their job very well and can get shit done in four hours, so they can make something happen, and I’m just going to trust whatever they’re doing. We’ll see what happens from here on out.”
Over the past few years, Ige found an uncanny knack at calling for specific opponents and UFC granting his wish. That was his plan when he had a fight scheduled on July 20, with hopes that he would call his shot again for UFC 306 in September.
Now, Ige feels like the goodwill he’s earned with UFC and the praise he’s received from fans puts him in a position where he doesn’t need to mention anyone by name to land a marquee opponent.
“I don’t believe I have to call out anyone at this point,” Ige said. “Had I fought, whoever I fought on July 20 and win, I have to make that callout. But doing what I just did [at UFC 303], now I’ve got the hype. I’ve got the hype now. That’s what people do. You want to steal people’s hype.
“I’ve seen Diego’s rise. I’m like, ‘I love that fight.’ Because I want that, I want the stardom. I want the fame. We’ve both got it now. They match me with anyone, it’s going to be a big fight.”
While he’s dealing with a sore leg right now, Ige has no doubt that he’ll be back in the gym soon enough, and thanks to his short-notice fight at UFC 303, he even has a new contract to break in when he competes again.
“I had a one-off agreement for this fight specifically and I got a new contract,” Ige said. “I’m going to get paid more than I’ve ever been paid. I’m happy. I’m happy with where I’m at. The UFC did a great job of taking care of me and always do.
“I’m taking this week just to recover my body and I’ll get right back on the horse because I have no serious injuries. My leg’s a little sore from this freaking guy kicking it, but outside of that we’ll be good. I’ll be good to go when September rolls around.”
