UFC 303 was among the most chaotic pay-per-view events in recent memory. After Brian Ortega backed out of the co-main event at the last minute, Dan Ige stepped in to face Diego Lopes. Former UFC champion, TJ Dillashaw appears to be highly impressed with this and has shared his own experience with similar situations.
During the weight cut, Ortega became ill, and the UFC replaced him with Dan Ige on four hours’ notice. Ige voluntarily messaged UFC top brass to take on Diego Lopes in a catchweight fight. In a recent episode of the JAXXON Podcast, TJ Dillashaw discussed the incident and explained how wild it was. The fighter further addressed the time when his opponent was substituted with only 24 hours’ notice.
Three hours notice, that’s crazy. I remember being my first title defense ever after I beat Renan Barao, I was supposed to rematch him. He missed weight, so they changed my opponent out in 24 hours for me fighting a world title. It was like crazy to me. But to do it in three hours, that’s a new record.
T J Dillashaw via JAXXON Podcast
Dillashaw experienced the situation at UFC 177 when he was about to make his first-ever title defense against Renan Barão. However, the challenger was hospitalized due to a bad weight cut. The UFC managed to replace the Brazilian via Joe Soto. The fight went on for five rounds until Dillashaw finished Soto via KO.
Like Soto, Ige got the same result against Lopes as the fight continued for all three rounds. In the end, Lopes took the win via unanimous decision. However, Ige received a lot of appreciation from fans for the short-notice fight and for putting on a great show. During the podcast, Quinton Jackson agreed with Dillashaw’s assessment and shared his views on the last-minute replacement fights.
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson shares his story of last-minute opponent change similar to Diego Lopes at UFC 303
As expected, the fight business is filled with uncertainties and fighters can get injured anytime. In such situations, promotions try their best to save the fight card which results in last-minute replacements. This often changed the whole dynamics and put fighters in a tough situation.
Quinton Jackson talks about a fighter’s mindset after last-minute opponent change (via Imago)While discussing the topic, Quinton Jackson addressed how last-minute alterations influence fighters mentally. According to the UFC veteran, fighters train for specific fighters, thus every change has a huge impact on them. The legend also revealed his personal experience with the same.
I don’t think the fans understand how tough it is even for us to get a new opponent because it happened to me once….No one told me. When I landed in Japan, that’s when they told me I was fighting (someone else).
Quinton Jackson via JAXXON Podcast
In the case of Diego Lopes, the fighter was given the option to not accept the fight and still get fully paid. However, the Brazilian took the risk against a new opponent and came victorious. On the other hand, Brian Ortega revealed that he pushed himself too hard and ended up suffering the consequences.
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