Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 86, there’s a spot in the rankings that’s on the line in the featherweight division. 13th ranked “50K” Dan Ige (17-7) will look to defend his spot in the rankings as he takes on Andre “Touchy” Fili (23-10).
Starting with Dan Ige, he’s going to be looking for a bounce back performance after his last fight. He last fought in a co-main event back in September against Bryce Mitchell and lost a decision. Ige had some big moments in that fight, but Mitchell landed timely takedowns to get the decision win.
That loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Ige. Ige had a six-fight UFC win streak in 2020 that led to a main event against Calvin Kattar. He lost that fight and then went just 1-4 in five fights. Granted, all against stiff competition. He’s still very dangerous, he’s just struggled when he’s taken on the elites at 145.
In terms of pure talent, Andre Fili has some of the best in the featherweight division. Throughout his career, he’s been looked at as someone who could rise up the ranks if he could just put everything together and fight smart. However, the results have been very up and down for him.
For example, he had a big decision win over Bil Algeo in September 2022 but immediately dropped a decision to Nathaniel Wood last July. He scored a knockout win in December and now he’s looking for his first winning streak since 2019 at UFC Vegas 86.
UFC Vegas 86 Prediction
When looking at this fight, the result is going to really come down to how Andre Fili fights. We know exactly what Dan Ige is good at and we know how he wants to fight. He wants Andre Fili to meet him in the middle and brawl with him. We know how sharp Dan Ige’s striking is and he thrives when he’s able to stay on his feet.
Andre Fili has found himself getting caught up in brawls before seemingly wanting the fight to be exciting opposed to doing what it takes to win. For Fili to win this fight, he needs to mix in the wrestling. He needs to use range strikes and then mix in takedowns to keep Ige on his toes.
He cannot brawl with Ige and let his ego get involved. If he does, Dan Ige is going to get the win at UFC Vegas 86. Fili can easily win this fight, but I just think Dan Ige is going to get it done. I think there’s going to be too many exchanges where Ige gets the better of things and I see a decision win for 50K tomorrow night.
Prediction: Dan Ige by Decision