Dana White grants Diego Lopes and Dan Ige's post-fight wishes after heaping praise for zero-notice fightÂ
Dana White was impressed with Diego Lopes and Dan Ige for stepping up for their extremely short-notice fight at UFC 303.
Lopes was originally supposed to face former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega at the event. However, with mere hours left for the pay-per-view, 'T-City' was forced out of the fight owing to illness.
While in most such cases we would've seen the fight scrapped or at least postponed, UFC 303 couldn't afford any more setbacks. Lo and behold, Dan Ige comes to the rescue, accepting to take on the dangerous up-and-comer at almost zero notice.
Lopes was originally, supposed to fight Ortega at featherweight. But, the bout was later bumped to lightweight earlier this week at 'T-City's' request.
However, with the 33-year-old withdrawing from the contest so close to fight night, Ige was not in a position to make weight and the bout ultimately took place at catchweight with the Hawaiian coming in at 164.5 pounds.
During the post-fight press conference for the event, the UFC CEO heaped praise on both men for daring to step up on almost zero notice. He said:
"Think about this, Diego gets the call [that] he [Ortega] is not going to make weight, no problem I'll fight. That right there is already mentally challenging... We see it all the time, how many guys don't accept the fight and don't do it, right? Then he gets the call that he's out and we want to put somebody else in and he accepts the fight."
White added:
"And then Dan Ige, I'm assuming, he had already ordered the fight and was ready to sit home and watch the fight tonight. And now he is in the co-main event. So you couldn't have two bigger studs than these two guys tonight."
Catch Dana White praise Diego Lopes and Dan Ige at UFC 303 below:
At the pay-per-view, Lopes claimed a unanimous decision win over his opponent. Following the event, both men called for an opportunity to fight at the promotion's upcoming fight card at The Sphere.
Elated with the fighters' grit and will to step up despite the worst of circumstances, White has guaranteed to find a spot for both men in UFC's upcoming magnum opus.