Getty Dan Ige raises his hand after a UFC victory.
A grueling war on the prelims, one brutal knockout, and a vicious finish in the co-main eventd punctuated a memorable UFC Fight Night event Heavy attended Saturday.
After the first fight of the night — a bantamweight bout between Daniel Marcos and Aori Qileng — was called off and ruled a No Contest because of an accidental groin kick, featherweight fighters Fernie Garcia and Hyder Amil pumped some much-needed momentum into the UFC Apex card in Las Vegas.
Amil activated his aggression mode early in round one, and even dropped Garcia with a left hand, attempting to score the finish there and then.
Moments later, Garcia got to his feet, rebounded, and exchanged damage with Amil as a fire-fight broke out.
The second round had just as much pace as the first as Amil continued to lay it all on Garcia.
With his back against the fence, Garcia looked exhausted, as Amil threw shot after shot until the referee stepped in to wave it all off.
Watch Part of Their War Right Here:
Hyder Amil made a statement 💥 #UFCVegas86
With victory, Amil nine wins (five KOs, one submission, and three decisions) against zero losses.
‘Robocop’ Rodrigues Arrested Brad Tavares
Another UFC match Saturday that was high on aggression pitted Gregory Rodrigues against Brad Tavares.
In the final sequence of the fight, early in round three, Rodrigues cocked the hammer of his heavy right hand and threw straight bombs at his opponent, one after the other.
Eventually, Tavares wilted, with his back to the fence, and cowered with his hands over his head.
This prompted the referee to step in and wave the bout off.
Watch the stoppage right here:
“Robocop” unloaded the power 🦾 #UFCVegas86
With victory, ‘Robocop’, advanced his pro MMA record to 15 wins (10 KOs, three submissions, and two decisions) against five losses.
Dan Ige Iced Andre Fili
That left arguably the highlight of the entire fight as veteran fighter Dan Age returned to the Octagon for a featherweight fight against Andre Fili.
On the ESPN+ broadcast, commentators noted that Fili requested this fight — something which reportedly offended Ige as the two athletes used to train with one another.
If he was seeking revenge, Ige certainly found that in the cage as he hit Fili so hard the American fell to the ground with aplomb.
Ige took tiny steps back as Fili sought to close the gap between them. It was as if Ige always intuitively knew the exact distance he needed to land a thunderbolt of a strike, and the knockout opportunity presented itself midway through the opening round.
In an instant, Ige launched a hard overhand right over the top that put Fili down. The fight could have been called off immediately, as Fili was in serious trouble.
However, Ige didn’t stop and so he hurled his body onto Fili’s and thudded him with another hard shot right on the chin.
Game over.
Speaking to Heavy and other reporters backstage, Ige said the second shot was necessary to “nail the coffin.”
Watch Ige’s finish right here:
MESSAGE SENT FROM DAN IGE 😤 #UFCVegas86
With victory, Ige advanced his pro MMA record to 18 wins (six KOs, five submissions, and seven decisions) against seven losses.
UFC returns with a pay-per-view show — UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria — at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on February 17.