New Orleans — As it turns out, Dan Ige has been tracking a fight with former Bellator double-champ Patricio Pitbull for a while now.
The Hawaiian featherweight, who will throw down with Pitbull at UFC 318 this Saturday, asked the promotion for the match-up before the Brazilian had even officially signed on with the company.
“Actually before he even signed, there was talks about him signing, and I texted the UFC right away, I was like ‘I want this fight,'” Ige (19-9) recalled during this week’s UFC 318 media day, speaking with reporters including Cageside Press. “He got the Yair [Rodriguez] fight, I got the [Sean] Woodson fight.’ It eventually played out the way it did because we’re fighting this weekend.”
All meant to be, in other words. And despite Pitbull coming up short in his promotional debut back in April, Ige still views him as a top five featherweight. “I’ve been a fan of his, I love his fighting style. He’s one of the best to ever do it. Fell short in his debut, but take nothing away. I still believe he’s one of the best featherweights in the world, definitely in my opinion top five. So this is a big fight for me.”
At 38, Pitbull is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and there’s no doubt fans would have loved to see him in the UFC sooner. Ige, however, isn’t reading too much into the whole age narrative.
“It’s all experience. Yes age will eventually catch up to you, but you can’t take that mindset going into a fight,” he opined. “I truly believe he’s still – I mean you’ve seen guys win titles at 40 years old. I’m sure he takes care of his body, trains hard, he eats well, sleeps well. Those are all the little things you’ve got to do, to take into consideration, [for] the longevity of your career. So I’m prepared for the best version of Pitbull, the most experienced version yet.”
Pitbull has suggested he was too calm in his UFC debut, blaming that for a decision loss to Yair Rodriguez, and promising a different approach at UFC 318. Ige sees being calm in the face of pressure as more of a positive.
“I don’t think being calm is a mistake. I think being calm is a dangerous weapon,” stated Ige. “You’ve just got to know how to utilize it, utilize your timing.”
As Ige pointed out, Pitbull has been in a number of five round fights, then came into a three-round affair with Rodriguez. But, he added, “he’s got to give Yair some credit too. Yair’s dangerous, a ferocious striker, throws a lot of volume, a lot of dynamic strikes from all angles. Kicks, spinning kicks, front flips, back flips, whatever, Yair will attack. It just wasn’t the best match-up. If he wants to change his style, it doesn’t matter. We’re prepared.”
Watch the full UFC 318 media day appearance by Dan Ige above.
