Dan Ige trades in the kind of goods that have earned him almost universal admiration from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its fans.
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As Ige moves ever closer to his forthcoming clash with Murphy at 145 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He faced long odds his entire life.
Ige was born on Aug. 6, 1991 in Haleiwa, Hawaii—a census-designate place of less than 5,000 people on the island of Oahu where nearly 18% of the population live below the poverty line. He graduated from Kahuku High School, not far from Honolulu.
2. The singlet provided some refuge.
The 33-year-old Hawaiian wrestled at Wartburg College, a Division III school in Waverly, Iowa. Ige was a sophomore on the 2011 roster when the Knights won their eight national championship. He turned to mixed martial arts a little more than a year later.
3. He settled on an ideal landing spot.
Ige operates out of the revered Xtreme Couture camp in Las Vegas, where he has access to a host of world-class coaches, from Eric Nicksick and Eddie Barraco to Dennis Davis, Ray Sefo and Jake Shields. The gym was founded by former two-division UFC champion Randy Couture in 2007. Francis Ngannou, Sean Strickland and Miesha Tate are among those who have called it home.
4. Durability has been a true hallmark.
The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate has never been finished in 26 professional appearances, with all eight of his losses having gone the distance. Ige has been knocked down twice inside the Octagon—by former Ring of Combat champion Edson Barboza at UFC on ESPN 8 and by Team Alpha Male mainstay Josh Emmett at UFC 269. Neither man could finish the job.
5. He maximizes his earning potential.
Ige has been awarded four “Performance of the Night” bonuses totaling $200,000 across his 17 assignments in the UFC, hence the “50K” nickname.