Diego Lopez at the UFC 303 weigh-in. Photo credit: Eddie Law/Cageside Press
The surprise co-main event bout between Dan Ige and Diego Lopez was announced with UFC 303 already underway, taking everyone by surprise.
The fighter had already been moved up in weight from 145 to 155 pounds to be ready for co-headliner Brian Ortega’s weigh-in date, but the bout was called off Saturday with the clock ticking down to the main card after Ortega fell ill.
Then, just a few hours before, Extreme Couture’s Ige showed up and showed his best fighting spirit, and with the NSAC approving the bout and Ige already licensed and in training camp, the fight against Diego Lopez began.
A lot of credit also needs to go to Lopez for accepting a new opponent and changing weight not once but twice in the space of just 36 hours.
Despite the sudden decision to fight, Ige played with a sense of urgency from the beginning, keeping his guard up, switching stances and patiently fighting a Lopez who was both extremely dangerous on the ground and never let his guard down in the stand-up.
The final minute of round one was a bit of a brawl, with both fighters trading punches in the phone booth and Lopez landing uppercuts. A few minutes later, both fighters were on the ground, with Lopez rolling after a guillotine attempt and Ige using a leg block to prevent the Brazilian from getting into position to finish off the choke.
In the second round, Lopez threatened to go for the back with about two minutes left, took Ige down and got a body triangle. Ige defended the choke and Lopez controlled the left wrist. Ige tried to reverse, resisting the body lock and taking a knee, but Lopez responded. Ige landed a right hand from behind and struck Lopez multiple times in a pretty impressive move considering the angle. But defense wasn’t going to win the round, and we went to the third round.
In the third and final round, Ige landed perhaps the best strike of the fight about 90 seconds into the fight, landing a hard right punch. But a few minutes later, a leg kick from Lopez tripped Ige, allowing Lopez to go for a takedown. Ige dodged it, but Lopez struck again. Lopez seemed to be getting tired, and with about 90 seconds left, the two men got tangled in a clinch along the fence. Ige gained the upper hand after that, but with Dunn all but certain to lose and time running out, Ige looked up. In the end, Diego Lopez fought one round and then two.
Official result: Diego Lopez defeats Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
