Dan Ige got the better of Kevin Aguilar in an action-packed contest to close out the UFC Greenville preliminary card on Saturday night in South Carolina.
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie went down Saturday night from Greenville, South Carolina and saw the featherweight meeting of Dan Ige and Kevin Aguilar in a scheduled three-round contest. Ige entered the UFC through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series after he choked out Luis Gomez. Ige, after dropping his UFC debut at UFC 220 to Julio Arce, had since won his last three, and collected two finishes leading up to Saturday. Another fighter who came up from the Contender Series, Aguilar had won his only two fights inside of the UFC. His most recent was a unanimous decision over Enrique Barzola at UFC on ESPN 2 – Barboza vs. Gaethje.
At UFC Greenville, both fighters felt each other out before they exchanged, each landing punches. Ige hit home with a pair of low kicks, and Aguilar fired back with a right that hit the mark. Ige attacked with another low kick, followed by another. Aguilar dove in and looked to land some shots. The separated and exchanged once more with Ige looking for a high kick. Aguilar fired back with a leg kick. Ige looked for the take down briefly before he gave it up. Aguilar moved forward and threw a 1-2 combination. Ige looked for the take down again then separated. He landed a hard left hand that stunned Aguilar! Going to the ground, Ige worked from full guard and landed shots to the body. Ige then switched to dropping short elbows; one looked to have opened up Aguilar. Ige postured up and landed a flurry on a downed Aguilar before the two got back to their feet and exchanged again, with Aguilar landing a solid combination before the round came to a close.
Ige opened round two with a leg kick, then a punch to the body of Aguilar. Ige landed a solid right. Aguiar threw a strait right that Ige ducked, he shot for the take down but Aguilar reversed it, taking the back fo Ige and doing damage. Aguilar worked into almost a crucifix position as Ige was standing and Ige slammed him into the mat and worked to escape. Aguilar went for the armbar and for a moment it looked like he might have had it, but Ige stepped over and eventually escaped. That left him on top of Aguilar. Ige, now in half guard, looked to land some ground and pound but Aguilar saw his spot and swept Ige. He took top position, and fired punches and elbows from guard as the round came to a close.
Ige landing at will! #UFCGreenville pic.twitter.com/1NHbtlSPpH
— UFC (@ufc) June 22, 2019
Round two opened with a right from Ige. Aguilar fired back. The two men exchanged again with Aguilar landing a combination to the body. Ige answered with a solid jab. Aguilar kept moving forward and Ige went for the body lock, but Aguilar instead attempted to take it to the ground. Ige defended and the two scrambled against the cage for a moment before meeting back at the center of the cage. There the two exchanged a pair of hard left hands. Ige landed a clean left but Aguilar kept moving forward. Ige landed a right and Aguilar fired a right back at him. Ige snapped a jab off followed by an upper cut and a hard right hand that hurt Aguilar. Ige looked to finish with flying knee and another combination that Aguilar absorbed! A real firefight had opened up, Aguilar getting the worst of it. Aguilar threw a kick that missed the mark and Ige rushed forward; Aguilar looked for the take down but on the way back up fired a knee followed by a left that dropped Aguilar. Aguilar was quick back to his feet and Ige was right back in front of him as he looked to finish the fight. They exchanged again and Ige landed another hard punch. How Aguilar was still going was a mystery. The pair continued to exchange as the horn sounded to end the round and the fight.
Dan Ige def. Kevin Aguilar by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
