UFC Vegas 56: Dan Ige Reveals He Had A “Super Secret Russian Mini Training Camp”

Las Vegas, NV — Dan Ige had a super-secret mini training camp during his 17-weeks preparing for his upcoming fight against Movsar Evloev.

Ige (15-5) returns to action in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 56, where he takes on rising prospect Evloev. The Hawaiian has fought nothing but killers in his last five fights, including main events against Calvin Kattar and The Korean Zombie, and a returning hungry Josh Emmett in his last outing.

Ige felt he won his last fight against Emmett, so he wanted to get back to action as soon as possible. But a week later, Ige reconsidered and decided he needed some downtime. When he recharged, he was offered Evloev and got a 17-week camp with it.

During his UFC Vegas 56 media day, he mentioned a super-secret Russian mini training camp that he did to get ready for his Russian opponent.

“It was here in Vegas, but when it all happened, it was just like a weird political time with like, the war and everything. And I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. It’s just because I was out there grinding. That’s all that matters,” Ige told Cageside Press. “You know, I’ve actually trained with the Russians a lot. I’ve trained with Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I’ve trained with Islam Makhachev, and I’ve trained with all the best guys that are the top Russian prospects in this game. And now I get to fight one. But I’ve done a lot of training with them in the past.”

“Although they’re all a little bit different, they have a similar approach and a similar style. So I’m used to the style. I’ve gotten hundreds of rounds, like literally hundreds of rounds with these guys, where I was sparring three times a week. And that’s something I never do. But I followed the Russian training program, where I sparred three times a week and grappled every single day. And I can’t count how many rounds that I’ve gotten with them. So yeah, here I am.”

On top of doing his camp at Xtreme Couture, Ige cross-trained in Colorado with Justin Gaethje and even took a five-day trip to Fight Ready in Arizona with Henry Cejudo. With the 17 weeks, Ige had the opportunity to do to other gyms instead of staying home in Las Vegas.

Watch the rest of Dan Ige’s UFC Vegas 56 media day interview above. More coverage from the event, which takes place on Saturday, June 4, 2022, can be found below.