Get ready for a thrilling match at 145 pounds, scheduled for the Apex in February. The UFC’s broadcast partner, ESPN, made the announcement on Wednesday night.
Dan Ige, also known as “50K”, will be returning to the cage. His opponent? Lerone Murphy, who’s yet to taste defeat. These two featherweights will go head-to-head, with the winner potentially breaking into the top 10. The fight will take place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
This showdown, set for Feb. 10 UFC Fight Night, has been confirmed by both fighters on their Instagram pages. Ige is looking to bounce back after a tough decision loss to Bryce Mitchell in September. Some folks thought Ige had done enough to win, but alas, the defeat ended his two-fight win streak.
Ige, a Hawaiian, had previously knocked out Damon Jackson in January and outworked Nate Landwehr in June. He’s known as “50K” for a reason – he’s earned himself a pair of $50,000 bonuses with his knockouts of Gavin Tucker and the aforementioned Jackson. But in his last 11 fights, he’s gone the distance in nine of them.
On the other side of the cage, Murphy is still undefeated as a pro. He’s won five straight, although his activity level hasn’t been the highest. He’s only had five fights since 2020, but they’ve all been victories, including knockouts of Ricardo Ramos and Makwan Amirkhani. His only blemish was a split draw against Zubaira Tukhugov in his promotional debut.
The UFC Fight Night card on Feb. 10 will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The headliner? Jack Hermansson vs. Joseph Pyfer at 185 pounds. Other likely main card pairings include middleweight scraps as Gregory Rodrigues takes on Brad Tavares and Rodolfo Vieira gets his rescheduled matchup against Armen Petrosyan.