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Dan Ige had been waiting since 2021 for a win like this. And he finally got it.
Ige dropped Damon Jackson with a left hook to the chin in the second round of the UFC Fight Night co-main event on Saturday. That pull-back right-to-left combo delivered a fight-finishing shot, ending the bout with just under a minute remaining in the second round.
“I saw an opening,” says Ige, who collected a $50,000 bonus for the Performance of the Night award. “I hurt him with a few shots before that, and I needed to slow it down and look for the right shot. I knew if I hit him clean, I’d knock him out, and that’s what happened.”
On a night where the fights were overshadowed by the impending return of Jon Jones this March and the departure of heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, who has been stripped of the title and is now a free agent, Ige (16-6) caught people’s attention thanks to his heavy, powerful hands.
Ige, 31, had lost his last three fights, and he had not tasted victory since March 2021. During that stretch, Ige questioned who he was as a competitor—and the harder he tried, the longer his misery continued. He lost all three fights by unanimous decision, growing more exasperated by the fight. Despite the pressure and anxiety building with each defeat, Ige finally broke back into the win column against Jackson (22-5-1, 1 NC).
“There was a lot of emotion in that knockout punch,” says Ige. “I won the fight with a Dunamis punch, which is a biblical term that comes from God. There’s not a man on this planet that could take that punch, so don’t take anything away from Jackson. This win was personal. It was for me and my family.”
The victory ensures Ige remains a factor in the featherweight division. Currently ranked 13th, this performance sets him up for a bout against a higher-ranked opponent in the spring, potentially as soon as June. Ige also stated he wants to fight in December, making this a three-fight year.
“I only fought once in 2022, but I want to be active this year,” says Ige. “I want to keep the ball rolling with three fights this year. And the goal is for people to see the best of me every time.”
In spite of entering the fight as the underdog, Ige opened the new year with a statement.
“I was the best version of myself tonight,” says Ige. “I’ve learned a lot from my experiences, and I hope to only go up from here.”
