UFC Vegas 86: “Had A Dream, I Knocked Him Out In The First Round” – Dan Ige On Co-Main Event Fight Against Andre Fili

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Dan Ige hopes his dream becomes a reality as he visions stopping Andre Fili ahead of their meeting set for UFC Vegas 86 at the Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (February 10).

No. 13 ranked featherweight Ige, who was originally scheduled to face Lerone Murphy, will now meet a late replacement in Fili in the upcoming UFC Fight Night's co-main event.

Although Fili steps in on late notice, Ige, who has had a good camp and feels that he is in the best form right now, was full of praise for his opponent, claiming the fight be a "bigger one" against a "big name fighter".

"Honestly, one of the best camps. Every camp I just try to take little things to get better and better. I make adjustments. No big changes, but I just try to find a little things to feel better everytime I step in there. I feel like I'm in the best form right now," Ige told myKhel in an interview organized by Sony Sports Network.

"(Andre) Fili, obviously even though he is not ranked, I feel like it's a bigger fight. He's been in the UFC for ten years. He is someone I've watched for a long long time. He is very exciting, a lot of people know him. He's a big name. So, it's a big fight, exciting fight. It's going to bring the best out of me."

While Ige is looking to rebound from his defeat to Bryce Mitchell, Fili had said it's a new version of him following his first-round stoppage victory over Lucas Almeida at UFC 296. To be precise, Touchy had said it's Fili 2.0. Whatever version doesn't matter to 50K Ige, who likes to take on a fighter in his best shape and form.

"Fili 2.0? He looked really good in his last fight. I'm always expecting to fight the best version of every guy. So, I'm ready for the best Fili and I can't wait. It's going to be awesome," Ige added.

Fili comes in with attributes as a good grappler and also on his feet, but without giving much away, Ige wants to use his game plan and find a stoppage before his opponent does this Saturday.

"I just need to be sharp everywhere. Need to use my skills to my advantage and implement my game plan, which is to be first. And knock him out before he knocks me out," said Ige.

On the fight prediction whether it would be decided over three rounds or a stoppage, Ige said, "Sorry to say, but I had a dream, I knocked him out in the first round. So, that would be nice."

Watch UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Pyfer on 11th February 2024 from 5:30 AM IST onwards LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).