Dan Ige was rewarded handsomely for stepping up on super short notice to save the UFC 303 co-main event.
Ige (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC), who was at home getting a massage when the card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas began, ended up fighting before the main event, creating arguably the wildest short-notice replacement story in UFC history.
Diego Lopes was scheduled to fight Brian Ortega, but he fell ill on fight day. Ige, who lives in Las Vegas and was already in fight camp, accepted the fight when his manager contacted him. Initially, Ige thought his manager was saying he was getting an opponent switch for July 20, when he was scheduled to fight Chepe Mariscal.
