“I got a left hook like a Mexican,” Dan Ige makes case to fight at Dana White’s dream Las Vegas Sphere on Cinco de Mayo

Recently, Dan Ige made a strong case for a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. At the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 236, Ige delivered a 1st round KO to Andre Fili. Ige proved his mettle as a hard hitter, waving a vicious right overhand. Speaking at the post-fight presser, he said he does not mind taking an off; he rather needs to. His wife is close to giving birth to their second child. But concurrently, he has a venue in mind for a turnabout. One Dana White has made a strong case for.

UFC plans to host a Mexican Independence Day-themed mega-event at The Sphere in Las Vegas. CEO Dana White very recently reaffirmed the booking of the venue. Even 135lbs champ Sean O’Malley is gunning to headline the $2.3 Billion Marvel after his maiden defense. Aspiring similarly, here’s what Ige said after his bout, speaking to an assembled media –

I know they’re going to want to stack it for Mexican Independence Day with a bunch of Mexicans, but I’ve got a left hook like a Mexican, too.

Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 236 post fight presser

Dan Ige is open to any opportunistic moments presenting themselves. But he does see some realistic patterns against some ranked featherweights. Depending on how matches play out, he thinks he would be a good fit for a Noche UFC fight card. Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, Diego Lopes, and Sodiq Yusuff are contenders he would be willing to face.

The under-staked 145lbs weight class has seen few title challengers in the last 14 months or so. Now with, champ, Alexander Volkanovski trying to prevent a change in guard, things would get moving again. So other contenders trying to move up fight what they get. Accordingly, Ige plans to be ready for whatever, in due time.

Dan Ige says he took no joy in knocking out Andre Fili

Featherweight Dan Ige recently duked it out with Andre Fili at UFC Fight Night 236. In the lead-up, the duo had showcased much promise to make this an exciting discourse; which it was for as long as it lasted.

Despite an exciting build-up and some definitive striking, Ige knocked out Andre Fili early. He floored Fili with a vicious right hand in the first round, just around the 2:43 mark.

The two featherweights had sprinted to a zesty start, matching stances and looking for openings with counters. Fili spammed an early left jab but did not end up with anything substantial. Moreover, Ige connected and caught him with a fateful right hand, sending him to the mat. He swarmed in another right blow to get the job done. But, by all apparent means, he did not enjoy it.

Here’s what Dan Ige has said at his post-fight conference to MMA Junkie and other coverage journalists:

I’ve had visions...I’ve had dreams of knocking him out, but you can’t just expect to knock the guy out and it doesn’t happen. But it did tonight, and it felt nice and I definitely dreamed that one.

Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 236 post fight presser

Ige did not enjoy knocking down Fili, a former training partner and close associate. He knows, however, that it’s all business downrange, and he did what the job required of him. As such he did nudge that while every fighter has visions of how they’d win, this was quite a good outcome.

In case you missed it:

• “I can’t just sit there and pout about it all day,” Dan Ige is looking to bounce back from his loss against “The Korean Zombie”
• Ilia Topuria trolls Movsar Evloev after his win against Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 56

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW