Dan Ige talked about his upcoming fight against Lerone Murphy and provided a reaction to Josh Emmett knocking out Bryce Mitchell.
At UFC 296, Josh Emmett secured one of the most violent knockouts of all time when he obliterated Bryce Mitchell with an overhand right. The highlight-reel finish caught the attention of the entire MMA community, including a former opponent of Emmett and Mitchell, Dan Ige.
During an exclusive interview with MiddleEasy, Ige was asked about Emmett knocking out Mitchell since he’s suffered defeats against both fighters in the last two years. ‘50k’ responded by saying:
“I was honestly really surprised that the betting odds that they had [Josh] Emmett as almost a 2-1 underdog. I really don’t know. That was a violent, great shot by Emmett. I know Mitchell he stepped in, he took the opportunity, he was ready, well, not ready apparently.”
Ige continued:
‘That was a scary KO. You don’t like to see guys get hurt like that. The way he was convulsing after the KO was scary. Hey, you go in there and you play a dangerous game with a dangerous puncher, things like like that can happen.”
Watch Dan Ige’s entire exclusive interview with MiddleEasy below:
Dan Ige plans to remind himself of how good he is with a win against Lerone Murphy
On September 23, Dan Ige’s two-fight win streak was snapped due to a unanimous decision loss against Bryce Mitchell. Therefore, Ige has added motivation to bounce back in his next fight against Lerone Murphy and return to the win column.
During the previously mentioned interview, Ige had this to say about his upcoming fight against Murphy, which goes down on February 10, 2024:
“I have to go out there and prove to myself again. You kind of go up and down in this sport. You have highs, you have lows, you have great performances, you have okay performances. I just want to go out there and put on another great performance and prove to myself that I can because I know I can.”
Ige continued:
“If I go out there and just gas pedal the guy, the way I can, I know I’ll be dominant. Take nothing away from Lerone [Murphy], he’s undefeated for a reason, although he has had some close fights. I don’t plan on making it a close fight. I want to go out there and just take it to him and get my hand raised.”
Dan Ige made his UFC debut in January 2018 following a win on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Since then, ‘50k’ has established himself as a mainstay in the featherweight division due to his promotional record of 9-6. He now plans to put together some wins and make a run for featherweight gold.
