Dan Ige aka ‘50K’ who has a record of 18-8-0 has had a pretty turbulent ride at UFC despite his prowess. Eric Nicksick’s pupil has won 10 times at UFC with 7 losses and sadly his last two fights were cancelled. He was supposed to fight against Joanderson Brito and Chepe Mariscal both of which did not pull through. However, finally, he has got a chance to get inside the octagon against Lerone Murphy at UFC 308.

But good news aside, UFC 303 must still be etched in his mind since that was a hell of a day for the fighter. He saved the fight that day even if he lost. So, our ’50K’ here is almost like a fallen hero so to speak- so let’s see his losses and how he got back up from them.

Dan Ige’s losses in the UFC against Diego Lopes, Josh Emmett, and others

To put it simply, Dan Ige’s first loss was way back in 2012 to Sebastian Mariconda and then came two wins but again he lost to Robby Ostovich in 2012 September. However, ’50K’ redeemed himself by winning six times after that, and then in 2015, Taichi Nakajima decided to give him another loss.

However, his most devastating losses were in the hands of Calvin Kattar, Josh Emmett, Movsar Evloev, and Diego Lopes. Even though he had amazing wins against Gavin Tucker, Mirsad Bektic, and Andre Fili among many others, the memory of the Diego Lopes fight will be fresh in his and everyone else’s minds.  So let’s get into the interesting part- what happened at UFC 303 Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega fight? This was one of the contradictory moments in Ige’s life because he got a lot of praise despite losing a fight.

UFC 303 had already fallen through because of Conor McGregor‘s injury update and Alex Pereira saved the day. On another side of the event, Brian Ortega gave a shock to the UFC world by announcing extreme fever and withdrawing from the fight. With just 3 hours left to the fight, Dan Ige stepped up to save the event. He fought Diego Lopes with just a 3 hours notice! Ige had sent UFC boss Hunter Campbell a message after hearing the news about Ortega’s illness. “Hey Hunter, I’ve been in camp for three months,” he wrote. He further said, “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 ready. Please don’t take this opportunity away from me.”

And he got his opportunity to make a mark. He put up an impressive show given his last-minute call-up. Unfortunately, he lost on points to Lopes who won by scores of 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards. “Eight weeks, six weeks, or just four hours, it doesn’t matter,” Ige said after his loss. He revealed, “This is what I live for, this is my dream. I was getting a massage and I got the call from Hunter about fighting tonight. These are the stories that I want to tell my grandkids. I couldn’t be happier with my performance.” Truly he proved what a fighter’s spirit is made of even if he lost the bout.

Dan Ige’s only loss outside the UFC and overall MMA record

Dan Ige has won many fights and lost a few on the side like most other fighters. However, his only loss outside UFC is to Diego Lopes at UFC 303 on June 29, 2024. Ige lost the fight by unanimous decision. Apart from that he has an impressive record with 6 wins by KO, 5 wins by submission, and 7 first-round finishes. The 14th-ranked featherweight has been a pro since 2014 and the combatant who sees his dad as his hero is ready to take on his next fight at UFC 308.

Ige has lost to Lopes but he did win the fan’s heart. Needless to say, Dana White too was pretty impressed with ’50K.’ He promised that he would let Ige fight at UFC Noche. However, it did not happen and Ige did not blame White for it, showing his dignity. Now he is finally getting a chance to fight at UFC 308!

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