Featherweights
#9 | Dan Ige (14-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. NR | Gavin Tucker (13-1, 4-1 UFC)Ige’s rise through the featherweight ranks was a pleasant surprise, and it will be interesting to see if the Hawaiian can hold serve in what remains one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. Ige did not earn a contract on the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series despite an impressive performance, but before Ige even had his next fight booked, the UFC gave him the call as an injury replacement. That UFC debut was a fun but clear loss to Julio Arce, after which Ige suddenly became one of the UFC’s hottest prospects. Over the course of a six-fight winning streak, he managed to blow the doors off Mike Santiago and Danny Henry, and 2020 saw him earn narrow wins over Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza. While the Bektic and Barboza decisions easily could have gone the other way, it was still impressive to see Ige hold his own and show that his pressuring style would be an issue for most opponents, regardless of the level of competition. Unfortunately, that did not include Calvin Kattar, who handily took care of Ige in a main event assignment in July. Kattar’s steady and layered boxing, combined with the Hawaiian’s lack of weapons from range, set up a dynamic where Ige repeatedly tried to crash into “The Boston Finisher” and mostly got picked apart for his troubles. Even with the setback, Ige is still in his fighting prime and should remain a relevant featherweight for the next few years. His road to redemption starts here against Tucker.
Tucker wound up finding the success that many expected, but it has been a strange path for the “Guv’nor” to get there over the course of his UFC career. Tucker was signed ahead of the promotion’s event in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2017, mostly as a way to get some local talent on the card. Tucker showed some potential as a flowy striker, but even the UFC broadcast noted the particularly weak level of competition on his resume. After winning that debut against Sam Sicilia, Tucker was matched against Rick Glenn in a fight that derailed everything for the Canadian prospect. Tucker was quickly thrown off by Glenn’s size, durability and ability to bring pressure, and due to some refereeing incompetency, the end result was his suffering a prolonged beating that threatened to end his career. It figured to make Tucker more gun-shy or less durable going forward, but once he made his return after two years of recovery, he somehow showed up in the best form of his career. Tucker has been much improved as a striker, but the real shock has been his development of a strong wrestling game seemingly from scratch. Never a part of his style prior the injury, Tucker has managed to mix things up and grind out victories on his way to a three-fight winning streak. Tucker is quietly on the older side for a prospect—he turns 35 in June—so it is nice to see him get a shot at a breakthrough win, especially given that this comeback was far from a sure thing.
This should be an intriguing back-and-forth fight. Even if one man winds up with a clear advantage, particularly in the wrestling and grappling departments, neither figures to be truly put out of the fight. Ige’s speed advantage should allow his crashing style to work. While Tucker might be harder hitter in terms of single shots, Ige looks fast enough to play with distance on the feet and, more importantly, have success finding takedowns. Tucker’s wrestling has been one of the most pleasant surprises in recent memory as far as a prospect developing some new skills, but this figures to be the ceiling, at least for the time being. If Tucker pulls this out, it will be an even more amazing story in terms of resilience and talent. Even Ige’s best wins are not complete shutouts, so Tucker should make this a fun scrap all the way through. Even so, the pick is Ige via clear decision.
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