Tag: Dan Ige

Damon Jackson is full of confidence ahead of his UFC Vegas 67 clash vs. Dan Ige: “He’s just another guy in my way.”

Damon JacksonDamon Jackson is set for the biggest test of his career when he faces Dan Ige in a co-main bout this Saturday at UFC Vegas 67. Jackson is coming off of the best performance of his life that saw his knockout of Pat Sabatini in just 69 seconds, setting him up for a ranked opponent. […]

Damon Jackson

Damon Jackson is set for the biggest test of his career when he faces Dan Ige in a co-main bout this Saturday at UFC Vegas 67.

Jackson is coming off of the best performance of his life that saw his knockout of Pat Sabatini in just 69 seconds, setting him up for a ranked opponent. Dan Ige is a difficult opponent for Damon Jackson as his volume striking and wrestling defense make him a force to be reckoned with. However, Jackson feels he is up to the challenge and re-iterated that sentiment in a recent exclusive interview with LowKickMMA. 

“He’s just another dude in my way and I’ve got to get past him to get to where I want to be. It’s a tough fight, but I like the fight a lot. Ige is very well-rounded so I’ve got my work cut out for me. My wrestling has got to be on point, my jiu-jitsu has got to be on point, and then obviously his striking is through the roof. I’ve been doing a lot of defensive work and I think if everything goes as planned, I should take care of business. It’s definitely going to be a tough fight though.” 

Damon Jackson has also worked with James Krause, the UFC coach, who is currently in the middle of a gambling investigation. Jackson was scheduled to fight Darrick Minner, the fighter involved in the controversy last year, although the fight never came to fruition after Minner suffered an injury. Despite training at Fortis MMA in Texas, Jackson feels for Krause, as this situation develops. 

“I feel bad because I know James [Krause] and I know Darrick [Minner] and they both have families and kids. It sucks that they did something stupid and I hate to see them get in so much trouble because no matter what happens, they are going to lose time with their family. It’s frustrating for sure because you don’t want to see that in our sport.“

“James Krause was the guy that I started training with when I first began training in MMA. I had my first few amateur first under Krause and I have learned a lot from him so it sucks to see what happened to him. I know he feels bad and he has kids, but it was just a bad choice on his part.” 

Damon Jackson is 5-1 since returning to the UFC in late 2020 with his loss at the hands of Ilia Topuria. Jackson is looking to solidify himself as a contender in 2023 and that all starts when he takes on Dan Ige this Saturday. Check out the full interview right here:

How do you think Damon Jackson will fare against Dan Ige this weekend?

MMA News Today: Zabit Magomedsharipov Reveals UFC Tried To Unsuccessfully Lure Him Back Multiple Times, Muhammad Mokaev Jokingly Teases Jobs At Uber, McDonald’s After UFC Release, & More

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For August 1, 2024, we’re taking a look at: Zabit Magomedsharipov Says The UFC Tried To Bring Him Back Multiple Times But He Doesn’t Have The Desire The incredibly exciting Zabit Magomedsharipov remains one of the biggest […]

Continue Reading MMA News Today: Zabit Magomedsharipov Reveals UFC Tried To Unsuccessfully Lure Him Back Multiple Times, Muhammad Mokaev Jokingly Teases Jobs At Uber, McDonald’s After UFC Release, & More at MMA News.

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For August 1, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

  • Magomedsharipov isn’t motivated by money or other promises
  • Mokaev explores new career paths
  • Ige vs Murphy booked again for Abu Dhabi

Zabit Magomedsharipov Says The UFC Tried To Bring Him Back Multiple Times But He Doesn’t Have The Desire

The incredibly exciting Zabit Magomedsharipov remains one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in MMA history.

He went undefeated in the featherweight division and was on the cusp of a title shot before a long period of inactivity was followed by the news that he had decided to retire.

Magomedsharipov spoke in a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, where he revealed details about his current status and how the UFC have tried to bring him back several times.

“Yes they do from time to time since I left the sport. Three or four times they got in touch, they wanted to have a meeting with me, invited me to the US but I couldn’t go. I know that I can’t promise them anything so why should I go and meet with them?”

He added that returning to MMA is something he has thought about in the past but he doesn’t have the passion for competing right now, only for training and coaching.

Still only 33 years old, Magomedsharipov added that the UFC made substantial offers but that isn’t the deciding factor, adding that he doesn’t see a return ever happening.

“No, it’s not. They promised me a lot of things, but that’s not the point. I simply made up my mind. I don’t want to prove anything to anybody. Come back, go through training camps, I have no desire to return and it’s not about money. Whatever they offer me I don’t think I will ever come back.”

Muhammad Mokaev Jokes About Finding A New Career Option After UFC Departure

Muhammad Mokaev finds himself in a very strange position in his career that seemed unimaginable just several days ago.

With the UFC not wanting to renew his contract despite his clear potential and success in the flyweight division, going to another major promotion seemed the clear route for him.

However, Mokaev has made it clear that he still hopes to come to an agreement with the UFC and isn’t interested in signing with the PFL at this stage, who would be the clear favorite to land his signature.

“The Punisher” has instead been posting a series of memes on his social media account to show how he will be spending his time now that he is out of contract with few options.

Dan Ige Gets Abu Dhabi Return After UFC 303 Heroics

After he stepped up and helped save the day at UFC 303, Dan Ige has got his next assignment.

Ige was massively in the promotion’s good books after he agreed to fight Diego Lopes on the very same day and stepped into the co-main event.

Whilst he didn’t get his hand raised on that occasion, he will look to return to the win column at UFC 308 on October 27 in Abu Dhabi, per MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck.

Just like how Lopes has been rescheduled for UFC 306 in his original fight with Brian Ortega, Ige will compete in a match-up that got away from him also when he takes on the #11-ranked featherweight Lerone Murphy.

Murphy withdrew from their fight that was booked for February and went on to defeat Edson Barboza last time out.

Read more on the story here.

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Dan Ige Makes Fresh Plea For Diego Lopes Rematch With ‘Equal Opportunity To Prepare’ At Sphere-Held UFC 306

Should Diego Lopes not get the names he’s after at UFC 306, Dan Ige has called for the chance to face him again on the back of a full camp. Had plans not changed in a dramatic way late last month, Ige would currently being gearing up for a collision at the Apex with Chepe […]

Continue Reading Dan Ige Makes Fresh Plea For Diego Lopes Rematch With ‘Equal Opportunity To Prepare’ At Sphere-Held UFC 306 at MMA News.

Should Diego Lopes not get the names he’s after at UFC 306, Dan Ige has called for the chance to face him again on the back of a full camp.

Had plans not changed in a dramatic way late last month, Ige would currently being gearing up for a collision at the Apex with Chepe Mariscal on July 20. Instead, “50K” is drinking in widespread acclaim for his efforts on the grand stage of UFC 303.

Ige awoke on June 29 with no expectation to fight at the International Fight Week pay-per-view in Las Vegas. But when illness forced Brian Ortega out of his co-main event against Lopes, the always game featherweight veteran answered the call.

And the Hawaiian fought competitively across three rounds against Lopes in their 165-pound catchweight contest, which marked the third different weight for the Mexico-based Brazilian during fight week.

The 32-year-old ultimately fell short on the scorecards, but you’d do well to find someone seeing him as a loser on the night. Ige’s decision to save the day at T-Mobile Arena also no doubt banked him some good faith with the UFC, and he’s hoping to cash that in on September 14…

Ige Suggests Fans Would Love Second Lopes Fight On Full Camps

In the aftermath of his extremely late-notice battle with Lopes, Ige dismissed talk of staying on the July 20 lineup and instead requested a spot on the Noche UFC card, set for the Sphere in Las Vegas this fall.

Lopes had the same event in his crosshairs, calling for either a rescheduled showdown with Ortega or a matchup with former champion Alexander Volkanovski.

In a recent post on social media, Ige acknowledged that Lopes deserves a top five name like “T-City” or “Alexander the Great.” But should that not come to fruition, he’d love nothing more than the chance to face the rising star with a full preparation in tow.

“I heard Yair is still climbing Mt. Everest and won’t be ready for the sphere,” Ige wrote. “Diego you deserve a higher rank for sure but if you don’t get what you want then I’m sure the fans would love to see us run it back with full camps and equal opportunity to prepare. What better place then make history again at the sphere ? ?? #NocheUFC #fightersfight#stayready“

Prior to his loss at the hands of Lopes, Ige opened his account for 2024 in brutal fashion, stopping Andre Fili in the first round at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Pyfer this past February.

Lopes, meanwhile, has now won all four of his fights since an impressive showing in defeat on debut against Movsar Evloev last May.

Continue Reading Dan Ige Makes Fresh Plea For Diego Lopes Rematch With ‘Equal Opportunity To Prepare’ At Sphere-Held UFC 306 at MMA News.

Dan Ige Reveals He Didn’t Even Know Weight Class For Short-Notice UFC 303 Fight: ‘The Only Thing I Read Was Numbers…’

Dan Ige stepped in on four hours’ notice to fight Diego Lopes in the co-main event of UFC 303. The fight was a fairly entertaining affair, with Lopes securing the first two and Ige bouncing back in the third. On June 13, 2024, Ortega vs. Lopes was announced as the co-main event for UFC 303. […]

Continue Reading Dan Ige Reveals He Didn’t Even Know Weight Class For Short-Notice UFC 303 Fight: ‘The Only Thing I Read Was Numbers…’ at MMA News.

Dan Ige stepped in on four hours’ notice to fight Diego Lopes in the co-main event of UFC 303. The fight was a fairly entertaining affair, with Lopes securing the first two and Ige bouncing back in the third.

On June 13, 2024, Ortega vs. Lopes was announced as the co-main event for UFC 303. Just before the weigh-ins, the bout was shifted to lightweight from featherweight.

Things took another turn as Ortega pulled out due to illness on fight night. This is when Ige agreed to fight Lopes at a catchweight of 165 pounds – only he didn’t even know that that was the weight limit for the fight.

Dan Ige Reveals How He Happened To Be On Weight To Fight Diego Lopes At UFC 303

Ige recently appeared on the Michael Bisping YouTube channel and discussed his initial reaction to fighting on four hours’ notice. His first thought was to eat for energy and get hydrated.

“I was in the kitchen, just grabbing things, like what am I doing? What do I do with my hands? I was just like, I gotta eat, I gotta fuel. I’m like, starting to grab things. I’m like, what do I, what do I need? I start hydrating because I was like, if I’m gonna fight, need to be hydrated.”

Amidst these worries, “50k” admits to not even checking the weight mentioned on the contract before signing it. He claims to be more intrigued by the paycheck and the opportunity to do something unprecedented.

“I didn’t even know I had to weigh in Bisping. I didn’t know how this was working. They told me, they’re like, what do you weigh? I was like, I was 164-165 this morning, somewhere along those lines. So, they sent me the contract, it said 165 for the bout agreement, I didn’t read. Only thing I read was numbers because I was like sweet, the money’s in there, we’re good.”

Ige then revealed he wasn’t expecting to weigh in officially for the fight. However, his concerns regarding missing weight and its impact on his purse were cleared as he stepped on the scale at 164.5 lbs.

The new UFC 303 co-main event was announced as soon as the short-notice fighter made weight, and the rest is history.

Read More: Ian Garry Frustrated At Getting Another Decision

Continue Reading Dan Ige Reveals He Didn’t Even Know Weight Class For Short-Notice UFC 303 Fight: ‘The Only Thing I Read Was Numbers…’ at MMA News.

Ige vs. Topuria Targeted For Dec. 17 UFC Card, Twitter Reacts

The UFC’s final card of 2022 looks set to get stronger with the likely addition of a featherweight banger between Dan Ige and Ilia Topuria. Despite talk over a possible short-notice bout with Bryce Mitchell early next month appearing to fall thro…

The UFC’s final card of 2022 looks set to get stronger with the likely addition of a featherweight banger between Dan Ige and Ilia Topuria. Despite talk over a possible short-notice bout with Bryce Mitchell early next month appearing to fall through, it still appears that Topuria will fit another fight into this calendar year….

Continue Reading Ige vs. Topuria Targeted For Dec. 17 UFC Card, Twitter Reacts at MMA News.

Ilia Topuria Rips Into Movsar Evloev For Fighting “Shamefully” At UFC Vegas 56: “Movsar And Ige Both Suck”

Ilia Topuria, Movsar Evloev, Dan IgeIlia Topuria was not impressed by Movsar Evloev’s impressive showing at UFC Vegas 56. This past Saturday, Movsar Evloev dominated Dan Ige to grab a unanimous decision win in UFC Vegas 56’s co-main event. Evloev landed about 100 more strikes than Ige overall and the damage on the Hawaiian’s face was evident. Ige sat at […]

Ilia Topuria, Movsar Evloev, Dan Ige

Ilia Topuria was not impressed by Movsar Evloev’s impressive showing at UFC Vegas 56.

This past Saturday, Movsar Evloev dominated Dan Ige to grab a unanimous decision win in UFC Vegas 56’s co-main event. Evloev landed about 100 more strikes than Ige overall and the damage on the Hawaiian’s face was evident. Ige sat at the tenth spot on the rankings going into the bout, three above his victor.

Ilia Topuria fires shots at Movsar Evloev

Evloev called out the sixth-ranked contender at featherweight, Arnold Allen, following arguably the biggest fight of his professional career. The 28-year-old Russian offered to take on the Englishman in his home country at the upcoming UFC London event.

Ilia Topuria, who recently broke into the UFC rankings, was far from pleased with Evloev’s performance on the night and the subsequent callout of Allen. ‘El Matador’ shared his feelings on Twitter saying that Evloev fought shamefully and was scared to call him out.

Topuria’s first tweet took aim at both Evloev and Ige.

“Movsar and Ige both suck. I hope to see something special that could motivate me to fight the winner. #UFCVegas56“

Topuria alleged that Evloev doesn’t “have the balls to call” him out.

“@MovsarUFC You fight shamefully! Another decision without any attempt to finish it. On top of that you don’t know how to speak. You don’t have the balls to call me out! Now everyone can really see how you run away! shamefully”

Ilia Topuria and Evloev were matched up in the past

Ilia Topuria and Movsar Evloev are currently two of the most highly touted prospects in the UFC featherweight division and were slated to face each other on January 22 at UFC 270. However, Evloev was forced to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. The fight was canceled and Topuria was pulled from the card.

Based on his tweets, it seems that Topuria would like to get his scrapped bout with Evloev re-booked. Evloev may not find the fellow undefeated Topuria as a suitable matchup for him in terms of rankings. They are both undefeated but Topuria is right on the periphery at number 15 on the list.

“I’m ready for next week. Just give me a good name,” Evloev said in his post-fight press conference. “I’m tired of fighting with no-names, and I deserve good names. And I’m the next champion. Just give me good names. I deserve this.”

“One more thing, I want to say to my division: I’m the next champion,” Evloev said.