Lopes holds off Ige to win short-notice UFC 303 co-headliner

Diego Lopes defeated Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the UFC 303 co-main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ige accepted the 165-pound catchweight bout on a few hours' notice after Brian Ortega withdrew due to an illness.

Lopes was originally scheduled to face Ortega in a featherweight bout before it was moved to lightweight Friday when Ortega was unable to make the 145-pound limit.

Lopes said after the victory he wants to fight at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The Mexico-based Brazilian mentioned Ortega and former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski as potential opponents.

Lopes outstruck and outgrappled Ige in the first 10 minutes of the fight. He attempted a D'Arce choke late in the first round and controlled Ige on the ground for the majority of Round 2.

Ige rallied in the third, landing hard punches on the feet against a tiring Lopes. But Lopes made it to the final horn and secured the win on the judges' scorecards.

Lopes, ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division, is now riding a four-fight winning streak.

Ige was scheduled to fight in the UFC Fight Night co-main event on July 20 before agreeing to take on Lopes at the 11th hour at UFC 303. The Las Vegas resident, ranked No. 13 coming in, has alternated wins and losses in his past four Octagon appearances.