Dan Ige takes a close decision at UFC 303 hours after being called in to fill in for an ill fighter

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An illness forced Brian Ortega to pull out hours before his scheduled fight with Diego Lopes in the co-main event of UFC 303 on Saturday, and Dan Ige was called up as a replacement and lost by decision.

All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Lopes (25-6).

“I said before anyone, anywhere, I’ll fight anyone,” Lopes, a Brazilian, said through an interpreter.

Ige (18-8) received a standing ovation from the crowd after his loss for his willingness to step in on short notice.

“I was like, ‘Man, this is an opportunity to become a legend,'” Ige said. “This is a story I’m going to tell my grandkids. I would love to (win), but man, I couldn’t be happier.”

UFC president Dana White said before the bout that it likely would have been canceled if Ige hadn’t been available.

“There would have been no other options,” White said.

The match is the warm-up match in the main event between light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and top challenger Jiri Prochazka.

White said Ortega had a fever and was not ready to continue. Ige, who is from Honolulu but trains in Las Vegas, was already in town preparing for another fight.

“It’s all about opportunity,” White said. “He jumped into it. Who’s hotter than Lopes right now?

White joked that Ige was probably sitting on the couch about to order the pay-per-view when he got the call.

Jeff Mullen, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, told ESPN that because Ige fought on Feb. 10 in Las Vegas, the lawsuit made the lawsuit approved.

“We’ve already had the medicals and all of his requirements have been met,” Mullen said. “It was a perfectly approved match. I’ve checked with the lawyers to make sure everything is in order.”

The Ortega-Lopes fight itself was a replacement for a previously scheduled bout. Jamahal Hill had to pull out of his match against Carlos Ulberg due to a knee injury in practice.

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AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Mark Anderson, The Associated Press