Tag: Dan Ige

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 […]

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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. […]

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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.

MMA Twitter Reacts To Evloev’s Dominant Win Over Ige At UFC Vegas 56

Movsar Evloev showed why he’s a future featherweight title contender with a smothering unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 56 tonight. Evloev showed that he’s not only one of the most dominant grapplers in the division, but also a threat on the feet. The Russian gained the upper hand in round one,…

Continue Reading MMA Twitter Reacts To Evloev’s Dominant Win Over Ige At UFC Vegas 56 at MMA News.

Movsar Evloev showed why he’s a future featherweight title contender with a smothering unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 56 tonight.

Evloev showed that he’s not only one of the most dominant grapplers in the division, but also a threat on the feet. The Russian gained the upper hand in round one, landing a flying knee and heavy strikes, before slamming Ige to the canvas. Round two saw both fighters land some big strikes before Evloev got the takedown and proceeded to land a few nasty strikes from on top.

In round three, Evloev took Ige’s back early and stuck to him like glue for the rest of the fight to round out a one-sided decision win. In his post-fight interview, the 28-year-old called out the featherweight division’s other rising star, Brendan Allen.

The victory extends Evloev’s unbeaten record to 16 wins, six of which have come in the UFC. After besting #10 ranked featherweight Ige, we can expect the #13-ranked Evloev to enter the division’s top ten in the coming days.

You can catch all the highlights of the co-main event below.

Movsar Evloev is now unbeaten in 16 pro MMA fights.

Now, let’s see how MMA Twitter reacted to Evloev’s victory over Ige at UFC Vegas 56.

UFC Vegas 56: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik Results & Highlights

MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC Vegas 56. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

Continue Reading MMA Twitter Reacts To Evloev’s Dominant Win Over Ige At UFC Vegas 56 at MMA News.

Movsar Evloev Lays Out Plan: Finish Ige, Main Event Debut, Title Shot

Rising UFC featherweight Movsar Evloev has lofty ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage, and he’s hoping to move closer to accomplishing them at UFC Vegas 56. While a lot of top prospects are perhaps flying under the radar in the UFC’s top divisions, not many are as promising as Evloev. The 28-year-old boasts an unblemished 15-0…

Continue Reading Movsar Evloev Lays Out Plan: Finish Ige, Main Event Debut, Title Shot at MMA News.

Rising UFC featherweight Movsar Evloev has lofty ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage, and he’s hoping to move closer to accomplishing them at UFC Vegas 56.

While a lot of top prospects are perhaps flying under the radar in the UFC’s top divisions, not many are as promising as Evloev. The 28-year-old boasts an unblemished 15-0 record and is a former bantamweight champion in the renowned M-1 Global promotion.

In five Octagon appearances, Evloev has maintained his perfect professional slate with victories over Seung Woo Choi, Enrique Barzola, Mike Grundy, Nik Lentz, and Hakeem Dawodu. The Russian’s most recent win saw him ascend to #13 on the featherweight ladder.

He’ll have the chance to break into the divisional top 10 when he shares the Octagon with Dan Ige in tonight’s co-main event.

The 145-pound shark tank is currently one of the most stacked on MMA’s biggest stage. Below incredible champion Alexander Volkanovski sit a host of hungry contenders, including Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, Josh Emmett, Arnold Allen, and Giga Chikadze.

But despite the immense level of talent alongside him on the featherweight roster, Evloev believes in his abilities to compete with the best.

During UFC Vegas 56 media day on Wednesday, the Russian acknowledged Ige’s talents, but suggested that he fully expects to finish him in round one before advancing to a title eliminator.

“It’s a good opportunity, a good name. But I’m very confident, and nothing will mess (me up) in this fight,” said Evloev. “(Ige) is good, his wrestling, cardio, boxing; pretty good. But I think I am better, and I will prove it this fight and finish this guy.

“I hope after this fight, when I get victory, I need one more good name for title shot, I hope,” added Evloev. “My plan is to finish this guy first round. I don’t need three rounds.

With all five of his outings in the UFC going to the scorecards, Evloev will look to put an exclamation point on a victory this Saturday by becoming the first man to finish “50K” in MMA. If he does so, the 28-year-old will be expecting a main event debut next time out, swiftly followed by a shot at gold.

“Co-main event (spot) is good, but my plan is main event next time out, and maybe after, you know, a title fight,” said Evloev. “I need to show my best version for this (fight), and prove to everyone I’m a real contender for the title.”

While it would be impressive to secure a championship opportunity in his next two appearances, Evloev’s talent is clear to see, and it seems he’s looking to accelerate his timeline having had a bout with Ilia Topuria canceled in January this year.

Nevertheless, Ige will be no easy opponent. The 30-year-old has only lost to the best in the Octagon, with defeats to Calvin Kattar, “The Korean Zombie,” and Josh Emmett stalling the momentum that wins against Edson Barboza and Gavin Tucker brought him.

Who do you think will have their hand raised in this weekend’s co-main event, Movsar Evloev or Dan Ige?

Continue Reading Movsar Evloev Lays Out Plan: Finish Ige, Main Event Debut, Title Shot at MMA News.