[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] played spoiler to [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag]’s featherweight debut on Saturday when he picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC on ESPN 8.
Ige (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) extended his winning streak to six consecutive fights, but none is more significant than the split decision over Barboza (20-9 MMA, 14-9 UFC), who fought many of the best at lightweight before moving down a weight class.
He had overcome some hard shots and a cut under the eye, but Ige’s pressure seemed to convince the judges and earn him the nod by scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28.
The featherweight bout was part of the UFC on ESPN 8 main card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Ige came out the gate strong and applied heavy pressure on Barboza, landing some solid punches. His aggression took him right into a powerful right hook, though, and led to a knockdown. Barboza jumped on top and pounded away with some strikes from inside the guard, but he didn’t finish and Ige recovered and stood back up. They settled into a groove after that, with Ige getting himself back in with some good head and body work. Barboza landed a pair of leg kicks, but it didn’t deter Ige from pressuring forward and trying to answer every attack with his own, despite a cut under his right eye.
In need of a response to start the second, Ige came out strong, tagging Barboza with his hands as he applied footwork pressure. Barboza stayed composed and chipped away with his own attacks, landing kicks an counter punches while Ige came at him with a lot of volume. Ige tried for a takedown with less than two minutes remaining, but Barboza easily sprawled and stood up. The Brazilian sported a hematoma under his left eye and a cut on the bridge of his nose, but closed the round strong with a pinpoint kick to the body and another defended takedown that turned into ground-and-pound.
With Ige in need of a big moment to sway the judges going into the final round, he came out swinging at Barboza. He connected with a few solid shots, but Barboza remained steady and navigated the push from his opponent. Ige had a huge moment with just over a minute left, securing a takedown on Barboza and keeping control until the final bell. Ige couldn’t inflict much damage, though, and Barboza hung on until the final bell.
It was a very close fight, but the judges rewarded Ige’s work in the final two rounds and got the him the win. Afterward, he called out the top names at 145 pounds such as Yair Rodriguez an Calvin Kattar.
“I did my best to grind and push as hard as I can through that third round,” Ige said. “Edson is a tough guy – one of the best in the world. (It’s) such an honor to share the octagon with him.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 8 results include:
- Dan Ige def. Edson Barboza via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Krzysztof Jotko def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Song Yadong def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Miguel Baeza def. Matt Brown via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:18
- Kevin Holland def. Anthony Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:39
- Giga Chikadze def. Irwin Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Nate Landwehr def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Cortney Casey def. Mara Romero Borella via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:36
- Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’Tale Mayes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:05
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