Last-Minute Madness! Dan Ige & Diego Lopes Go to War at UFC 303

Dan Ige fills in for Brian Ortega on four hours notice.

UFC

Dan Ige has come up short in his super short-notice UFC 303 co-main event against Diego Lopes. Lopes won two rounds out of three on all judges' scorecards.

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Lopes was initially slated to face Brian Ortega in the night's co-main event, which was a fight put together on two week's notice after Conor McGregor's withdrawal. More developments came on fight night, however, as it was announced that Ortega was withdrawing, and Ige was stepping in on short notice.

The fight was held at a catchweight of 165 lbs. Lopes weighed in three separate times on fight week, once at 145, then at 155, and again at 161 lbs.

Lopes vs. Ige Round by Round

Round one was tentative for Ige as Lopes crashed into him on every exchange. Lopes threw down like an alley cat, with five-six-seven punch combinations mixed in with knees and elbows every time they collided. Lopes almost caught Ige in a guillotine in the dying seconds before trying a D'Arce choke.

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Lopes took the second round decisively after narrowly surviving an Ige head kick. He caught Ige's leg and took him down, controlling the rest of the round with a body triangle while threatening rear-naked chokes. It was the third round that had the crowd fired up, however, as Ige's underdog story almost came true.

Ige rallied in the third round, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Lopes aiming to KO him stiff. It was clear he had nothing to lose, and the broadcast team remarked that he was playing with house money - he could go for broke. It worked for Ige, who hurt an exhausted Lopes and ended the third round pummeling Lopes with ground and pound.

The judges scored the fight 29-28 Lopes.

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