Lerone Murphy and Dan Ige meet Saturday on the main card of UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige UFC 308 preview
Since fighting to a draw in his UFC debut in 2019, Murphy (14-0-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) has rattled off six wins in a row and remained unbeaten. He’s coming off the biggest win of his career in May, when he won a five-round main event vs. Edson Barboza by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night. … Ige (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) has a sub-.500 record since 2020, although he remains a tough out when he’s on top of his game. He’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Diego Lopes this past June, when he took the fight on hours’ notice at UFC 303.
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige expert pick, prediction
Between not giving Ige the spot he wanted on the UFC’s Sphere show to making him fly across the world to take on an undefeated contender with little-to-no name value, it doesn’t exactly feel like Ige’s getting rewarded for making one of the most gangster walks in the promotion’s history back at UFC 303 earlier this year.
That said, Ige has never been a walkover for anyone, and I suspect he’ll make a good account for himself regardless of the result here.
It would probably serve Ige well to go more to the body and counter in this fight, but I’m betting that the Hawaiian has a solid game plan coming into this contest considering he has Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick in the corner.
Speaking of which, I’m too biased toward the Ige side due to my ties to his camp and corner, so don’t expect too much objectivity from me in this section.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m incredibly impressed with Murphy, who deserves to be the favorite and will likely have a bright future in this sport. I just can’t help but biasedly back Ige in this spot.
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the English fighter, listing Murphy -300 and Ige +225 via FanDuel.
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige start time, how to watch
Murphy and Ige are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 2:45 p.m. ET (11:45 a.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
