LAS VEGAS -- In a stunning move that seemingly only could occur in mixed martial arts, Dan Ige will step in for Brian Ortega on a handful of hours' notice Saturday and will fight Diego Lopes in the co-main event of UFC 303. The UFC announced right before the main card started that Ortega has a 103-degree fever.
Ortega couldn't make the scheduled 145-pound limit for the fight and on Friday at 3 a.m., his team informed the UFC and Lopes' team. The fight was changed to a lightweight bout and both fighters successfully made weight.
But Ortega fell ill Saturday and had to withdraw. On just three hours' notice, Ige, a Las Vegas resident who fought in February and thus met the Nevada Athletic Commission's requirements, agreed to take the bout.
DraftKings sports book put up a line and made Lopes a -310 favorite, with Ige at +250
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
— UFC (@ufc) June 30, 2024
Dan Ige is stepping in on 3 HOURS NOTICE to face Diego Lopes in the #UFC303 co-main event.
Brian Ortega has withdrawn due to illness.
[ Watch LIVE on ESPN+ PPV | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/Q9FSaULiEL
Lopes and Ige are both featherweights. They were required to weigh in on Saturday after Ige arrived. Lopes was 161 pounds and Ige was 164.5, so the match was allowed to go forward.
The card has undergone massive changes from when it was first announced.
It was orginally supposed to have Conor McGregor returning to headline against Michael Chandler. But McGregor broke a toe and had to withdraw. On June 14, the UFC made Alex Pereira against Jiri Prochazka for the light heavyweight title as the new main event, with Ortega against Lopes in the co-main.
The original co-main of Jamahal Hill versus Carlos Ullberg fell out and changed multiple times. Hill injured a knee and was replaced by Anthony Smith. Then Ullberg withdrew and Roman Dolidze stepped up to face Smith.
Nothing anyone did, though, to save the show will ever match what Ige did Saturday on three hours' notice.