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LAS VEGAS – Dan Ige knows there’s high expectations around his fight with Josh Emmett on Saturday at UFC 269. He intends to deliver on all of the.
Ige (15-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) sees a recipe for a “Fight of the Night” with Emmett (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the featherweight matchup, which headlines the ESPN2-televised prelims prior to the pay-per-view main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Both men have proven knockout power, and although Emmett has been out of action since June 2020 nursing injuries, Ige expects his opponent to be sharp and a wild contest when the cage door closes.
“I’m expecting Josh to come in his best,” Ige told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC 269 media day. “18 month is a long time off but that’s a long time to get better. I know he’s dealt with some issues with his knees and his injuries, but that doesn’t mean not out there working and training and working on things he wouldn’t normally work on because of his injuries. He’s a hard hitter and he’s going to go out there and make it a fun fight. It’s going to be a crazy, entertaining fight for everyone.”
Although Ige plans to leave everything in the octagon at UFC 269, he knows how important the win is. He’s 1-2 in his past three after going on a six-fight winning streak, with his most recent fight, a main event loss to Chan Sung Jung at UFC on ESPN 25 in July, being particularly disappointing.
Ige said he doesn’t want to miss out on any more opportunities, so he’s prioritizing keeping himself in the moment going forward.
“I forced things,” Ige said. “I forced motivation using my son. I tried to force a knockout. I tried to go out there and make something happen and it didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. There was a lot of takeaways and I believe I’m an improved person and improved fighter and I’m just in this to be better.
“The main thing I’m focused on is getting wins again. I just want to star to build that streak again because I think wins speak more than anything. When I was on a six-fight winning streak I had all the heat and hype behind me then I took a loss.”
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