[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] is certainly appreciative for the knowledge he’s gaining as a part of the Dominance MMA Management team, but he’s not shying from his primary mission just yet.
“I stay busy,” Ige told MMA Junkie. “It keeps my mind sharp. It keeps me growing. I’m around the game. I’m around fights. I’m around champions. I’m around the best guys in the world, and I stay busy on the business side. At the same time, I’m training with the best guys. I’m focusing.
“I’m growing with the sport, but I think that’s also why I have that chip on my shoulder when I go out there and fight because hey, I’m not just a manager. I’m a badass fighter, too.”
Ige made his UFC debut back in January 2018 but suffered a decision loss, a frustrating result for anyone hoping to fulfill their fighting dream. But he’s since bounced back in fine fashion and has earned four straight wins in the octagon.
“That loss really took me to the next level, and I think I’ve showed it so far,” Ige said.
But Ige’s growth in the sport hasn’t taken place entirely inside the cage. He’s also taken on an increasingly meaningful role alongside Dominance MMA’s Ali Abdelaziz, which means assisting with the handling of several high-profile clients, including the likes of UFC champions Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, among many others.
Ige said the constant focus on MMA has helped him develop in all aspects of his professional career.
“It’s not a 9-to-5 job,” Ige said. “It’s not your typical job. It’s a lifestyle. I’d say it’s 24-7.
“There’s times I’m with Ali, there’s times when I’m not with Ali, but I’m always dong whatever I can to help out fighters. I’m a fighter, myself, and I know there’s times I have to be selfish, especially in these last final weeks when I’m really prepping my mind and body and training hard. But at the same time, I still juggle this other career, and I think it’s just driven me to a whole ‘nother level.”
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Ige (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) returns to action at next Saturday’s UFC 248 at Toyota Center in Houston, where he takes on fellow featherweight Mirsad Bektic (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). A student of the game, Ige knows he’s facing a highly respected contender who represents a dangerous foe, even after a few recent losses to Josh Emmett and Darren Elkins.
“I was watching him before I was in the UFC,” Ige said. “This is a guy that had a lot of hype coming up, and people looked at this guy as perhaps a future champion or title contender.
“He’s had some tough forks in the road. He took a few hard losses against Elkins and Josh Emmett, recently, and that’s hard. But you can’t take anything away from the guy. He lost to two really good guys, but he’s still a name. He’s still a ranked guy, and I feel like this is my time, and I have the momentum going into this fight. I have everything to gain.”
A win over a proven commodity like Bektic would certainly be a big step for Ige, one which a manager would likely use to try and leverage his client into advantageous scenarios. To avoid any potential conflict of interest, Ige lets the crew at SuckerPunch Entertainment handle his negotiating.
It’s probably just as well. After all, Ige admits he’s learning the business side of things at a rapid rate, but he still has the heart of a fighter at the end of the day.
“If (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby comes to me and offers me a fight, I’m still a fighter,” Ige said. “I’m going to take any fight offered to me, but I understand the need to take the right fights at the right time. I understand negotiating contracts.
“I’ve seen the biggest deals get negotiated, sitting with Ali while he’s negotiating Khabib’s deal or Justin Gaethje’s deal or Frankie Edgar’s deal. I’m there, and I’ve seen all this and I absorb all this, and I feel like it makes me a smarter fighter. But at the end of the day, I’m still a fighter. I will have something set up for myself when I’m done fighting, but right now, I’m a fighter.”
As Ige makes his way up the UFC’s featherweight ranks, there’s a chance he could actually be asked to face some of the guys he assists as a manager, including the likes of Zabit Magomedsharipov, Zubaira Tukhugov or even Edgar, should “The Answer” remain at 145 pounds. Ige said he’ll do his best to avoid such a situation, unless, of course, there’s a belt on the line. Then all bets are off.
“I’ll fight anyone for the title,” Ige said. “I’d fight my own dad.
“I don’t care who’s in front of me. It’s a business, at the end of the day. It’s not personal with these guys. I have a great relationship with these guys. They’re my friends, but I’d fight my friend if there’s a belt on the line. If there’s money on the line, I’m fighting my friend. It doesn’t matter.”
But all that in due time. Right now, Ige knows he’s got a real challenge in front of him at UFC 247 – but he also enters it with the utmost confidence.
“I feel like I’ve been fighting for respect for a long time,” Ige said. “That’s the way I fight. I want to go out there and prove a point. I have a chip on my shoulder. Every fight for me is personal. I want to make a statement, and I want to show that I belong and that I deserve to be here.
“I have a pretty clear vision. I’m on a four-fight winning streak right now. I obviously have a very tough opponent in front of me, but I’m looking to fight three times this year. Before 2020 is done, I want to make it a seven-fight winning streak. That would be hard to deny as a title contender. The goal is to be fighting for that belt in 2021, but this is my year.
“I really have grown so much in the past year. I’ve yet to show even close to my full potential. I’m growing. I’m getting better every day. I have a great team around me, and 2021, I envision that belt around my waist. It can be done.”