Edson Barboza vs. Dan Ige in the works for May 16 UFC event
UFC-ranked featherweights Edson Barboza and Dan Ige will face off May 16 in Jacksonville, Fla. on the promotion's third event in eight days.
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The UFC is close to adding an important matchup in the 145-pound division.
Pending finalization, perennial lightweight contender Edson Barboza will still make a planned move to featherweight, though it will now be against Dan Ige on May 16 in the promotion’s third event in eight days.
A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking Tuesday. Brazilian outlet Combate was the first to report the news.
The event takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card is expected to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.
Although he’s lost four of his most recent five fights, Barboza (20-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) has largely faced the cream of the crop at the top of the lightweight division. Most recently, he dropped a close split decision to Paul Felder at UFC 242 in September. He was planning on a featherweight matchup with Josh Emmett on May 2, though that bout never came fully to fruition before the card was scrapped due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
As for Ige (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), the Hawaiian fighter is riding a five-fight winning streak dating back to his UFC debut loss to Julio Arce in January 2018. Since his lone defeat, Ige has beaten Mike Santiago, Jordan Griffin, Danny Henry, Kevin Aguilar, and most recently, Mirsad Bektic.
With the addition, here’s the current UFC lineup for May 16:
- Walt Harris vs. Alistair Overeem
- Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Kevin Holland
- Marlon Vera vs. Song Yadong
- Edson Barboza vs. Dan Ige