Dan Ige replaces Brian Ortega in shocking 11th-hour UFC 303 co-main event change vs. Diego Lopes

Don’t worry, Dan Ige (and Diego Lopes) saved the day.

On hours’ notice, Ige (18-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) stepped into the UFC 303 co-main event, in what could be the shortest-notice fight in the promotion’s modern era.

Not even expected to compete on the card, Ige now faces Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at Saturday’s event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ige replaces Brian Ortega, who withdrew from the bout due to illness. The bout will take place at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Ige weighed in at 164.5 pounds, shown on the ESPN prelim broadcast. Lopes, though he was contracted to fight at 145 pounds, got moved to 155 … and now 165.

The change was announced shortly before the main card broadcast.

Several parties involved including the two fighters, Ige’s coach Eric Nicksick, of Xtreme Couture, and Lopes’ manager Jason House, of Iridium Sports Agency, cryptically alluded to the change ahead of time.

Nevada Athlletic Commission executive director Jeff Mullen told ESPN the proper channels were gone through before the fight was sanctioned.

“Fortunately, Dan Ige, who is the 14th-ranked contender, is right here in town,” Mullen said. “He was already licensed. He fought here in February and won by first-round knockout. We already had all of his medicals, all of his requirements completed, so he was available. They made the fight. He’s ranked 14th and Diego’s ranked 15th, so it’s a perfect matchup – perfectly approvable matchup. And again, we had everything. I checked with our attorneys, made sure everything was in order. … Plus, he was already training for a fight on July 20, so he was prepared and ready to go.”

The original matchup between Lopes and Ortega was booked on short notice and first scheduled for featherweight. It shifted to lightweight ahead of Friday’s official weigh-ins due to Ortega’s inability to make weight.

With the change, the UFC 303 fight card includes:

• Champion Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka
• Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes
• Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze
• Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
• Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page
• Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Joe Pyfer
• Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson
• Gillian Robertson def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Martin Buday def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Rei Tsuruya def. Carlos Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Vinicius Oliveira def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.