Midnight Mania: Ige Saves UFC 303, Rewarded With Undefeated Killer In Abu Dhabi

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Remember UFC 303? Just about a month ago, the card fell apart a…


UFC 303: Ige v Lopes
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Remember UFC 303? Just about a month ago, the card fell apart a half-dozen times, forcing unprecedented actions from the promotion. When Brian Ortega pulled out of his scheduled co-main event versus Diego Lopes on the day of the event, UFC turned to Las Vegas local Dan Ige to save the card.

Ige, who wasn’t scheduled to fight for another few weeks, weighed in and fought on just four hour’s notice. He went to war opposite Lopes — himself a short-notice replacement as well — and ultimately lost a competitive decision to the rising star. In the immediate aftermath, Ige was showered with love from the community and promised a major opportunity in his next fight.

He felt like a winner.

After the fight, both Lopes and Ige requested to fight at the Noche UFC event in the Las Vegas Sphere. Lopes received his wish and will face Brian Ortega next, but Ige didn’t make the cut. After the full fight card announcement, Ige reacted on social media graciously.

“A lot of people are upset at Dana or upset for me not being on the Sphere card,” Ige wrote. “I know it was a ‘promise’ but I believe there’s something bigger and better in store and I will have another fight this year. Thank you all for the love and support. We’re ending this year on a DUB!”

Now, Ige’s next match up has been announced. Per a report from MMAFighting, Ige will return to action opposite undefeated contender Lerone Murphy at UFC 308 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024. 6-0-1 inside the Octagon, Murphy has been rising up the ranks and most recently scored his first main event victory by decisioning Edson Barboza.

It’s a fun Featherweight fight between No. 14 and No. 11 in the 145-pound rankings, and overall, it’s a reasonable match up for both. At the same time, it’s hard to consider the match up a huge reward for Ige after saving a pay-per-view (PPV) event. Murphy is really good and not that well-known!

Hopefully, Ige has at least received a pay bump for his troubles.

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.