After signing up on short notice and agreeing to two different weights, Diego Lopes must now fight a brand new opponent in the UFC 303 co-main event.
Brian Ortega had struggled to make weight for the hastily-arranged featherweight fight, which was brought in to replace Jamahal Hill vs Khalil Rountree Jr. He had been plotting a move up to lightweight and was in the process of bulking when he got the call to get back down to 146lb.
And after failing to make that limit, the fight was moved to lightweight over night despite Lopes having already gotten as low as 151lb. Ortega looked weak on the scales, and is reportedly now ill, meaning he will be replaced in an unprecedented same-day re-scheduling by Dan Ige.
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After Ortega pulled out of the fight on just hours’ notice, Dan Ige sent a message to UFC officials declaring that he would be willing to be a late-notice replacement. He had been due to face Chepe Mariscal on July 20 and was already in camp, and also holds the number 13 ranking at 145lb.
On the UFC 303 broadcast, a text from Ige to UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell was shared showing his intent to fight. “Hey Hunter,” the message read. “I’ve been in camp for three months. I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been.
“I can fight this guy tonight and beat him, this is what legends are made of. I’m in, I’m ready. I’m in great shape. Please don’t take this opportunity away from me.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission then re-weighed in Lopes, who tipped the scales at 161lb on the night. Ige then came in at 164lb, making for a catchweight bout of 164lb, almost 20lb heavier than the weight Lopes was expected to fight at just 48 hours ago.
UFC 303 appears to have been cursed in some way, with the main event between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler falling out at the same time as the initial co-main. And now the co-main has been completely rebooked again on just hours’ notice.
Nevada State Athletic Commission sanction new UFC 303 co-main event on hours’ notice
On the broadcast after Ige’s stunning last minute inclusion Megan Olivi spoke with Executive Director Jeff Mullen from the Nevada State Athletic Commission who confirmed that the bout was considered reasonable to sanction on such short notice.
“Dan Ige who is the 14th [13th] ranked contender was already right here in town,” he told Olivi. “He was already licensed, he fought here in February, won by first round knockout so we already had all of his medicals, all of his requirements completed.
“So he was available, they made the fight, he’s ranked 14th and Diego Lopes is ranked 15th [they are 13 and 14], so it was a perfectly approvable matchup. And again, I checked with out attorneys to make sure everything was in order.
“He was weighed in today, he’s going to have a pre-fight physical today and everything is in order. Plus, he was already training for a fight on July 20 so he was prepared and ready to go; first thing I did when they proposed this I talked to his trainer Eric Nicksick and I said ‘is he ready?’
“He assured me that yes, he is ready to fight… There was a similar situation in Anaheim, California where one of the Tafa brothers stepped in for the other on the day of the fight when there was an injury or illness.”
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