Dan Ige (red gloves) fights Diego Lopes (blue gloves) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Ige stars at UFC 303 after getting last-minute call to fight

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Jun 30, 2024 1:14 AM ET

Dan Ige didn't know he would be fighting Diego Lopes in the co-main event at UFC 303 when he woke up Saturday morning.

Dana White joked that he was "probably on his couch" ready to buy the event the pay-per-view event.

But when Brian Ortega (illness) was forced to withdraw from the bout, Ige stepped up and earned the respect of the entire mixed martial arts community by agreeing to fill in without any prior notice.

The fight was up in the air until hours before it began, with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani officially reporting it was official at 9:35 p.m. ET.

It’s official:

Diego Lopes x Dan Ige is OFFICIAL for tonight.

165.

Ortega is out due to illness.

Unprecedented.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 30, 2024

Ige lost by unanimous decision, but that hardly mattered.

That it even happened was a miracle. And Ige certainly wasn't treated like a loser afterward.

He spoke with Joe Rogan after the fight, and he discussed both what he was doing when he received the call and his thought process when agreeing on such short notice.

"Eight weeks, six weeks, four weeks — Four hours," he yelled to thunderous applause, "it doesn't matter. This is what I live for," he emphatically declared.

"I was literally getting a massage and I had a call ... They say, 'You wanna fight tonight?'" Ige continued.

"Eight weeks, six weeks, four weeks — FOUR HOURS! It doesn't matter, this is what I live for."

—Dan Ige on fighting Diego Lopes with just hours notice #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/ssb0JLhkX4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 30, 2024

"This is an opportunity to become a legend. This is the story I want to tell my grandkids," Ige shared before rightfully declaring, "I couldn't be happier with my performance."

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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