Athletes
Dan Ige Is Looking To Add Another Name To His Resume
Dan Ige Looks To Follow Up An Impressive Knockout And Bring Home Another Performance Of The Night Bonus When He Faces Patricio Pitbull At UFC 318: Holloway vs Poirier 3
Dan Ige is the type of fighter everyone loves to watch.
With so many records already on his resume, it’s hard to dispute. When looking at all-time UFC featherweight stats Dan Ige ranks 6th in total fights, 6th in total wins at 11, 5th in finishes, 5th inKO/TKO wins, 8th in total fight time, 6th in knockdowns landed and 10th in significant strikes landed. Simply put, Ige is fun to watch.
At a glance, a 3-3 record over his last six fights is just .500, but the level of competition must be noted. He lost to Bryce Mitchell, Diego Lopes – who just competed for the featherweight belt earlier this year - and Lerone Murphy, who is currently undefeated at 16-0-1. Alternatively, when we look at those three wins, he has finished two of them via KO.
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Ige understands this, and states, “I go out there and have been putting on entertaining fights, fighting the division’s best of the best.”
Ige flies under the radar, but the nickname “50k” rings true, and there is no one better fit for itthan the man who will become tied for 10th among featherweights for all-time bonuses with a bonus at UFC 318: Holloway vs Poirier 3. Ige doesn’t feel the pressure, and exclaims that he is excited for this opportunity to welcome Patricio Pitbull to his second UFC fight.
“I feel good, I feel good to be here. I’m always grateful to have an opportunity; you never know when your last fight is in this sport,” Ige said. “I’m here, I’m present, just embracing a new city,a new place, but the same thing.”
Ige is a company man and has shown that he is as game as anyone when he stepped in on four hours’ notice to face Lopes. The fact that the fight went to a decision in a fiery 29-28 unanimous win for Lopes is a testament to how game Ige is, because there are only a few fighters that would take the risk to fight anyone on less than a day’s notice.
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“I am always trying to go out there and be the best version of myself, whatever that looks like,” he said. “If that’s technical, physical, mental, spiritual, however it is, I am just looking to be a little bit better and constantly improve. I still feel like I’m doing that, so I’m happy to say that.”
Looking forward to this week, Ige understands that it would only be a matter of time that he would fight someone like Pitbull. After losing in his UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez, Pitbull is aiming to rebound. Both fighters have a calculated game plan and fight like one another, which Ige also notes.
“When I was in Miami, we were in the same locker room, me, Patricio Pitbull, Jean Silva, and I had a feeling that I’ll probably fight one of these guys. Stylistically, we fight pretty similar andwe have a lot of very similar strengths – good eyes, good reactions, good counter fighters; we probably have very similar gameplans.”
Ige aims to continue making his mark on the featherweight division. Pitbull will be a nice addition to Ige’s record and can possibly propel Ige into the top 10 of the fast-moving featherweight division.
“A win over Pitbull just adds to my win streak,” he said. “I am looking to put on a streak right now; I don’t care about titles or contender fights currently. I do care about it, but not in this very moment. I just care about winning this fight and continuing to climb the ladder. I do believe he is one of the best of the best and I do believe he is a top 5 caliber opponent, but again, I am just looking to go out there and add some names to my resume.”
UFC 318: Holloway vs Poirier 3 took place live from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 19, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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