For any fight promoter, having to replace a bout on the day of the event is the stuff nightmares are made of. But UFC CEO Dana White isn’t one of them. At UFC 303 on June 29 earlier this year, the UFC boss pulled off a move so bold that even the veteran commentary team was left in awe. The night started with the expected drama—until the unexpected news hit!

Brian Ortega, the scheduled co-main event fighter against Diego Lopes, was out. He had been suffering from a fever, a weight cut gone wrong, and ultimately, illness. The fight was in jeopardy, and fans braced themselves for a major disappointment. But Dana White had something else in mind. Something no one saw coming.

Dana White left the commentary team in awe with his choice to save the UFC 303 card

As the UFC was scrambling behind the scenes, something remarkable happened. Jon Anik, the UFC commentator who was just getting a grasp of the situation, was the first to break the news on air as revealed in a recently shared clip on X by Spinnin Backfist. Anik stated, “We got some breaking news right now. So UFC 303, live on pay-per-view tonight. Brian Ortega is out of the co-main event against Diego Lopes. He had a fever of 103 degrees after the weight cut, he was sick into the evening, woke up. He was still sick. And that brings us to what we have now. This is an unprecedented situation because Diego Lopes is still fighting.”

At this point, Anik’s words weren’t just conveying facts—they were capturing the essence of a moment that would go down in UFC history. He continued by sharing, “And it’s Dan Ige, lives right around the corner. Now he was gonna be, Joe, the co-main event 3 weeks from now on July 20th. So he had already been sanctioned. He showed up, weighed in at 164.5 lbs, which means our new look co-main event is a catchweight bout between Dan Ige and Diego Lopes.”

With Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan both in awe and bursting out in laughter at the bombshell that had just been dropped on them, Rogan confessed, “Well, I’m all in. I love it. I love the fight. I love the matchup. Dan Ige is a straight up killer, and I think Diego Lopes has world championship caliber potential. I really think that guy is something special. And Dan Ige, if anybody’s gonna derail the hype train, Dan Ige is your guy.”

Cormier, the former UFC ‘champ-champ’ chimed in by stating that he was aware of the changes just minutes before Anik made the official announcement yet kept silent because, “Like, when I found this out a couple minutes ago, I sent Sean a message. I go, wait until Rogan finds out. He did… the whole time your face was doing exactly what I expected it to do.”

And the UFC color commentator’s reaction indeed said it all. Dana White and the UFC matchmakers had just thrown a curveball into the night’s action, creating an instant classic out of nowhere! What makes this story even more extraordinary is the boldness of White. When Ortega fell out, he didn’t blink. He didn’t panic. He didn’t go searching for a safe option. Instead, he made a decision that according to him, “This is the s–t legends are made of, both of these guys accepted the fight on short notice and we’ll see how it plays out tonight.”

Dan Ige pulls back the curtain on White’s generosity after UFC 303

The fight went to a unanimous decision with Diego Lopes emerging victorious with his hands raised after three rounds. Yet, for Dan Ige, the loss not only brought him certified ‘legend’ status in the MMA sphere, but the UFC and Dana White made sure that he would walk away with a check that did more than just thank him for his heroics in saving the card!

Ige didn’t just save UFC 303, he also reaped the rewards of his bravery. In an interview with MMA Junkie Radio after the event, Ige confessed, “I got all my money, show and my win, and I got more. I got a new deal out of it. I got paid well. I probably got double or triple what I normally get, so it was, the number hit the bank account today, and it looks nice.”

This wasn’t just a financial windfall—it was a career-altering moment for Ige. His decision to step up was not about a price tag. He could’ve easily played hardball and priced himself out, demanding more money or turning down the offer altogether. But, as Ige wisely put it, “I wasn’t going to be like, ‘Give me $2 million,’ and they’d be like, ‘Ok, go sc–w yourself.’ They could easily just shut down the whole thing.”

The real draw was the chance to become a legend, to do something no one else in UFC history had ever done before.  The extra money was a bonus, but it was the honor of saving the card and stepping up when others might hesitate that truly defined Ige’s place in UFC history. So what do you think about Dan Ige’s heroics at UFC 303 and UFC boss Dana White’s decision to give him a chance to prove himself worthy of being called a ‘legend’? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!