Dan Ige made some changes to his usual training camp for his UFC Vegas 56 fight against Movsar Evloev.
Ige is set to face the undefeated Russian on Saturday in the co-main event in a crucial fight for both men. The Hawaiian is on a two-fight losing streak after dropping decisions to Josh Emmett and Korean Zombie in his most recent efforts. After the setbacks, Ige expected he’d get someone ranked below him so he wasn’t surprised when he got the offer to face Evloev.
“Honestly, no I’m not surprised, I did expect to fight lower in the rankings. Topuria was bantering with me on Twitter so I thought that might’ve been an option but he then fought at 155,” Ige said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “The name came up and I’m never too concerned about the opponents, anyone in the top-15, it didn’t matter. I thought it might’ve been Bryce Mitchell or Shane Burgos, it just worked out to fight (Evloev). He’s an up-and-comer, a really good prospect, he’s looked great in all of his fights in the UFC. It’s a good test for both of us, it’s a good test for him to prove he’s a contender in the division and it’s a good test for me to go in and put my name against anyone. I’m just excited to put that zero to a test.”
Given that Ige is on a two-fight losing skid, the Hawaiian knew he had to make some changes. He has called Xtreme Couture home but with him having nearly four months to prepare for this fight he went out to Colorado to work with Justin Gaethje and Arizona to train with Henry Cejudo. After spending time with both men, he knows he has gotten much better but a big difference is his fight IQ.
“It was really good, talk about taking risks, going up and working with Justin Gaethje, every day is a risk. The way he fights is the way he trains, it was really fun going up there,” Ige explained. “Then, training with Henry (Cejudo), was a completely different speed training, we focused more on the philosophy and the tactics and the probability of winning. That’s huge because that’s not something I really go into fights thinking about is my probability of winning. I usually think I can knock you out if I can land a punch. To break things down in different contexts and view the sport that way has helped my game a lot.”
Although Dan Ige believes he has gotten much better in this training camp, he knows he has to prove it in the Octagon at UFC Vegas 56. He’s well aware that Movsar Evloev has been a tough out for anyone but the Hawaiian is confident he has all the tools to frustrate the Russian and eventually break him which will lead him to get the win.
“We are going to beat each other up for three rounds,” Ige said. “I do expect it to go into deep waters, but hey man no one has broken this guy and he’s human and I know I have the ability to break guys and I will be trying to break him any moment I can and when I find the breaking point I do plan on finishing him. Everyone has a breaking point.”
If Ige does get his hand raised on Saturday, he doesn’t care what is next for him. Instead, he said the goal this year is to just rack up wins and prove he is a legit contender at featherweight.
“I don’t care, it just puts me back in the win column. It gives me a win and that’s what I’m focused on,” Ige said. “I need to get these wins back, if I want to be a champion I can’t be a champion on a two-fight win streak, a one-fight streak, I need to rack them up and that’s my goal.”
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