UFC 225 gets a little local flavor when Mike Santiago meets Dan Ige at featherweight.
On Friday, UFC officials announced yet another match-up for June’s UFC 225 card in Chicago. At featherweight, Mike Santiago will make the trip to the octagon for the third time. Meeting him in the cage that night will be Hawaii’s Dan Ige. Santiago, a native of Chicago, should have the home town crowd firmly in his corner at the event.
For Dan Ige (8-2), the Hawaiian will no doubt be hoping that this fight simply stays together, unlike his UFC debut. Ige won his way into the UFC after a strong showing on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. He was then booked for a bout against Charles Rosa at UFC 220 in January. Rosa, however, withdrew from the fight due to injury. He was replaced by Julio Arce, who bested Ige in a three round unanimous decision.
That leaves Ige looking to pick up his first win against Chicago’s own Mike Santiago. Santiago (21-11), like Ige, is a veteran of the Tuesday Night Contender Series. Also like Ige, he’s looking for his first win in the octagon. In his two prior appearances, he fell to both Zabit Magomedsharipov and Mads Burnell. That puts his back against the wall at UFC 225, as a third loss would likely spell disaster for ‘Little Bully.’
UFC 225 takes place June 9 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Robert Whittaker faces Yoel Romero in a rematch from last year, this time with the undisputed middleweight title on the line.
