The UFC has found a new opponent for Dan Ige (14-3). Originally, Ige was supposed to face Ryan Hall (8-1) on March 13th. However, recently, Hall suffered an injury to his hip and had to pull out of the featherweight matchup.
There was initial talk about the promotion pushing back the fight until April or May. That is when Hall will be ready to compete again. However, Dan Ige insisted on staying on the March 13th card due to the fact that he has a baby due in April.
The UFC then went to work on a replacement opponent and they found one. Dan Ige is now going to be taking on Gavin Tucker (13-1) in a few weeks at The APEX. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first with the news. Tucker is unranked, but he’s one of the best prospects in the featherweight division.
Dan Ige will be fighting for the first time since his headliner last July against Calvin Kattar. It was a huge opportunity for Ige to leap in the rankings had he won. However, he came up short and lost by unanimous decision. However, he did represent himself well that night.
Ige is currently ninth in the UFC‘s featherweight division. From a rankings perspective, this is a bit of a risky fight taking on Gavin Tucker. However, the promotion is known for loving guys who just want to fight and that’s what Ige wants.
Big UFC opportunity for Gavin Tucker
As mentioned, this is a very big opportunity for Gavin Tucker. Tucker currently isn’t ranked in the UFC’s rankings, but he’s right on the edge. He made his debut with the promotion back in 2017.
After winning in his UFC debut, he dropped his second fight by decision. That loss was also the first and only loss of his career. Since then, Tucker has bounced back nicely with three consecutive wins.
We just saw him back in December at UFC 256 when he defeated Billy Quarantillo by decision. Now, he’s getting someone in the UFC’s top ten. Should Tucker pickup the win, you know he will have a ranking by his name the following week. This should be a fun scrap on March 13th.