Diego Lopes vs Dan Ige UFC 303 Live Blog, Play By Play
Welcome to the live blog for Diego Lopes vs Dan Ige 165 lbs catchweight bout for UFC 303 PPV co-main event.
This fight was made just three hours notice after early prelims card already started. Diego Lopes’ bout against Brian Ortega was turned into a lightweight bout before the weigh-in but Ortega’s illness forced him to pull out on the day of the fight. Ige, who was apparently in a training camp, took an audacious offer to take on Lopes.
Lopes has won 3 fights in a row after losing in his UFC debut. He was last in action to beat Sodiq Yusuf at UFC 300. Ige has also won 3 times since the start of 2023 with one loss in between those wins. Who will get the job done in this short notice bout? Tune in below as we post live play by play and round by round updates from Diego Lopes vs Dan Ige catchweight bout in the co-main event from UFC 303.
LIVE UPDATES
Round 1: Lopes starts with an outside calf kick after first 30 seconds. Ige lands a punch but Lopes lands a few shots and a knee before Ige had to get close to him to block him. Another flash knee attempt from Lopes. Lopes once again lands a series of punches once again. Ige lands a jab. Another quick combo from Lopes follows. Ige is switching stances quickly now. He charges at Lopes with a body shot and a jab but Lopes also lands a jab. Lopes attempts a knee strike but had to content with a punch. Ige lands a shot. He gets close but Lopes counters with an uppercut. Ige goes for a takedown but Lopes tries to counter with a guillotine. Lopes transitions into a choke. Ige does a nice job to defend and get out of the submission just before the round ends.
Round 2: A few calf kicks from Lopes to start the round. Both men are a bit slow in this round but try to sneak in their shots. Lopes gets a body triangle on in the third minute. He has taken Ige’s back and is hitting short punches from behind. He continues to attempt to get into a choke but Ige keeps defending it. This continues for the rest of the round. Lopes attempts to change into an arm triangle in the last few seconds.
Round 3: Frentic action in the first minute as both men go for it. Ige lands tthe better shots. Lopes lands a jab but Ige lands a big right. Back and forth action continues until Lopes lands a leg kick. He attempts a takedown but Ige defends it. Ige lands a big right in the corner. He lands a big left after a few seconds. Lopes goes for a takedown. Ige defends it. Lopes attempts to get on his back with two minutes to go. Ige comes out of it after 30 seconds and gets into a half guard position to land some big shots. Lopes gets on the body triangle to keep him close. Ige lands some good shots regardless. He lands more big shots in the final 30 seconds but is unable to get the finish. Lopes lands a head kick from the mat.
Official Decision: Deigo Lopes won via unanimous decision(29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
