Just an hour left on the clock for the UFC to make a replacement after Brian Ortega’s unexpected exit from the co-main event of UFC 303, Dan Ige’s tweet set the internet ablaze before the official announcement from the UFC.
Dan Ige tweeted out, “So you wanna be a BMF? #UFC303“, accompanied by several reports of the featherweight replacing Brian Ortega, quickly made rounds on the internet.
At the time of writing, minutes before the Cub Swanson vs Andre Fili fight, the UFC broadcast team did not address the potential replacement and announced Ortega vs Lopes for the co-main event.
However, it wasn’t before the main card of the preliminary card that the UFC dropped the hammer and announced Dan Ige vs Diego Lopes as the new co-main event.
Why did Brian Ortega pull out of UFC 303?
Brian Ortega had trouble cutting weight earlier this week as the fight was moved to a lightweight contest. Needless to say, the condition must have worsened due to the short-notice nature of the match-up and the issues in cutting weight.
“He has a fever of 103 degrees.” Jon Anik announced during the live broadcast, officially confirming the new co-main event of the evening.
Dan Ige’s message to Hunter Campbell also made its way to the internet, and garnered the respect from fight fans around the world. “Hey Hunter, I’ve been in camp for 3 months. I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, I can fight this guy tonight and beat him. This is what legends are made of. I’m in, I’m ready. I’m in great shape. Please don’t take this opportunity away from me.” Ige wrote.
The new co-main event will now be fought at a catchweight of 165 lbs. Ortega vs Lopes was a fun stylistic match-up between two phenomenal strikers and BJJ wizards, and the cancellation has certainly left a lot of fans disappointed.
But for the record, Dan Ige stepping up on less than 2 hours notice is the shortest turnaround in the history of the UFC.
