After having the fight changed at the last minute, Diego Lopes defeated Dan Ige in the co-main event of UFC 303, on Saturday night (29), in a catchweight fight.
The fight began with an exchange between the two, with Diego taking more risks than his opponent, mainly with low kicks and knees. Ige, in turn, managed to land two crosses on the counterattack.
In the last seconds of the first round, Dan tried to take down Lopes, who defended himself by putting him in a guillotine choke as he fell. The Manaus native, however, did not have enough time to finish him.
The second round continued with aggression from both sides, until the Hawaiian, once again, tried to take down the Brazilian, who once again escaped the takedown by placing his arm around his opponent’s neck and dominating the fight on the ground.
The fight returned to striking at the beginning of the third round. This time, it was Diego himself who tried to take the fight to the ground in search of a submission, but he couldn’t.
After taking a few punches, the man from Manaus tried to fight on the ground again and, at first, dominated Dan, but the American managed to turn the dominance around for the first time in the fight.
Lopes won the fight by unanimous decision of the judges and showed all his fair play by hugging Ige and thanking him for accepting the last minute challenge.
Diego Lopes’ fight changed at the last minute
Initially, Diego Lopes was going to face Brian Ortega, third place in the featherweight category, but the American hadn’t been feeling well since last Thursday (27).
Four hours before the fight, it was announced that the Manaus native’s new opponent in the co-main fight of the night would be Dan Ige, who is just one position above the Brazilian in the division rankings.
Diego could have refused the fight upon learning that his original opponent would not be able to enter the octagon of the T-Moblie Arena, but he agreed to take part in the new confrontation.
Despite the fighters being in the same category, the fight was held at catchweight, as Ige took the fight at the last minute and did not make the weight cut.