Dan Ige 1-on-1 with Kevin Iole - Edson Barboza, training with Khabib and feeling disrespected

UFC's No. 15-ranked featherweight Dan Ige chats with Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole and previews his upcoming fight with Edson Barboza.

Video Transcript

KEVIN IOLE: Hey, folks. I am Kevin Iole. Welcome. I appreciate you joining me during this crazy time that we are in.

UFC action is about to return, and boy are you going to enjoy watching this next fight. My guest is one of the up-and-coming fighters in the UFC, a guy who, in my opinion, doesn't get enough credit for what he has done. He is on an incredible roll, and we're going to find out very soon on May 16 if this guy is the real deal because he is fighting Edson Barboza. None other than my man Dan Ige. How are you, Dan?

DAN IGE: I'm doing great. Thank you so much, Kevin. And I hope you're doing well during these times. And yeah, man, got a big fight coming up, so I'm pretty pumped up. I'm excited and ready to showcase what-- you know, what I can offer.

KEVIN IOLE: You know, some people may look at Edson Barboza's record and say, well, he's on a downhill slide he's lost a lot of fight, but then I look at who's he fought, and he's fought Khabib and, I mean, just an incredible run of who's who of the best fighters in the UFC.

DAN IGE: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: And he's moving down a weight class.

DAN IGE: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: What do you expect from him at featherweight when he's never fought at that weight class? Does that make a big difference?

DAN IGE: So, yeah, you're right. You know, he has had some losses, especially in his last five fights, but he's fought the cream of the crop of the division. And, you know, this guy has been ranked in the top 10 for the last maybe 10 years. I don't know. He's been fighting for a long time. He's a guy I've watched for a long time and maybe a guy I looked up to and was like, I never want to fight a guy like that when I was younger. But now here we are. He is dropping down to 145.

But, you know, this is my division. You know, he's coming down to my weight class, so I'm confident. I feel good. I'm not too worried about how-- a lot of people are asking, how do you think the weight cut's going to affect him? and this and that. But, in my mind, I have to prepare for the best, most dangerous Edson Barboza there is.

So for him too, it's a big-- it's a desperate time, you know? It sucks to lose four of your last five fights, but this is one of the best fighters in the world. I know he wants to prove a point, so he's coming down to featherweight to do so. But, you know, he's going to have a tough time to do it against me.

KEVIN IOLE: It's almost like if I was getting ready to fight Edson Barboza, I'd almost be limping before the fight because, you know--

DAN IGE: Yeah. Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: --those kicks are going to be crazy.

DAN IGE: Yeah. I try to do a lot of pain-therapy training. I smash my lines with the foam roller, getting deep-tissue massages. Got to-- got to get used to pain. You know, so hopefully it doesn't happen, but, you know, I got to be ready for it just in case.

KEVIN IOLE: Exactly. You know, we just had the NFL draft completed. And, you know, obviously you saw guys that were first-round picks. And, you know, Mel Kiper and all these people are talking about they're going to be super duper stars, but it's always hard to forget that Tom Brady was drafted 199th, and so many great players were drafted in late rounds and everything.

And to me, it's like you remind me in MMA of kind of one of these late-round guys. You know, it took you a long time to get in the UFC. You were on Dana White's Lookin' for a Fight. You didn't make it even though you won your fight. You were in the Contender Series. You finish your fight. You don't get picked. And now here you are. What are you, on a five-fight winning streak? You're going-- I thought the fight with Bektic was going to be the one that kind of put you over the top and made people realize, you know, how good you were. But now you get a household name in Edson Barboza.

Isn't it, you know, kind of weird how this sport goes where, you know, I think if you would have said two years ago, hey, is Dan Ige going to be a featherweight contender in 2020, most people would have probably said no or who, and now here you are on this major role. What changed to get you kind of moving on this platform that you're on now?

DAN IGE: I think it's-- I mean, I do feel doubted. I feel underestimated a lot. In almost every fight I go into, I feel like I get counted out, and that's the tenacity I bring to the fight. Like, hey, you better not count me out because you're in for a hell of a fight. Doesn't matter who it is.

And for sure I thought beating someone like Mirsad would have been the fight to kind of really establish my name. Obviously I'm on a five-fight win streak. But beating somebody like Barboza is really going to be the deal sealer.

But, like I said, you know, these are all just steps along the path to the title. That's what I really want, and that's what I want to show that-- you know, I want to show that I deserve to fight for a title one day, and I have to beat the best guys in order to do that.

So for me, it's cool. I'll fly under the radar as long as I have to because, you know, if guys aren't going to take me serious, you know, they're going to be in for a rude awakening.

But I do feel that way. And, you know, I almost feel disrespected. Like, it's not easy to go win five fights in a row in the UFC, you know, at an extremely stacked division. So I'm just going to go out there and keep doing what I do.

KEVIN IOLE: You know, you lose your UFC debut in a fight you probably could have won, right? I mean--

DAN IGE: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: --maybe you think you should have won that one, right? But--

DAN IGE: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: --a fight you look back on and you say now, hey, this [INAUDIBLE]. What do you think was the difference in that fight? Was it the fact that, you know, both of you were making your UFC debut that night against Julio Arce. But, you know, do you feel it was just a mental thing? Do you think it was just luck of the draw? What would you say when you look back on that fight why it didn't go your way and then how you were able to change it and have all these other ones go your way?

DAN IGE: Yeah, you know, I really-- I think that Julio fight, I just made some tactical errors, and I wasn't able to adapt. By the time I finally adapted, it was too late. I was already down two rounds.

But yeah, I mean, Julio's a tough fighter too. He's very-- you know, slides backwards, picks his shots. That was the first southpaw I ever fought in my life. I've trained with a lot of southpaws, so I'm good fighting in the open stance. But it was tricky, and I couldn't adapt in time.

There was no nerves. I felt good. I felt-- you know, I didn't give up. I pushed the pace. But I did learn a lot, and I fought three more southpaws after that and beat them all. So I showed that I can learn and adapt in those type of situations.

But that loss was good though for me. It sucked at the time, but it really, like, built, like, a hungry-- it lit a fire inside of me because I definitely didn't want to come out and lose two in a row because that puts me on the verge of-- I'm not saying they're going to cut me then, but it would put me on the verge of getting cut.

And so that second fight-- and I came out and dominated Mike Santiago in 49 seconds-- was like, hey, I deserve-- I deserve to be here. I belong here. And I just feel like that's how I-- that mentality I've been bringing every fight, and I don't see that mentality stopping anytime soon. It's just getting [INAUDIBLE].

KEVIN IOLE: You were in a division that, you know, one of the UFC's best and obviously loaded with talent. I think in all those lighter weight classes-- 155, 145, 135-- you know, there's a tremendous amount of great fighters. But you're in a particularly stacked division. So when you look at this, what do you think the time frame-- let's assume that you win this fight against Barboza on the 16th. What's the time frame for you to get the-- you know, get the fight that really matters and ultimately get the title shot?

DAN IGE: So obviously when this whole pandemic, you know, started, I kind of-- you know, I had a goal in mind that, hey, I was going to be active this year. I wanted to fight three to four times this year. And then obviously we got locked down, got quarantined.

And I was thinking to myself, like, am I going to let something like this really hold me back? Don't get me wrong. I took all the precautionary measures. I quarantined myself. But I also see opportunity in times like this.

So for me-- in order for me to reach my goals, I can't let, you know, a famine or a big pandemic like this hold me back. So I did everything I can to get ready for a fight and take advantage of opportunities like this. So for me, honestly, the time frame, it remains the same, and I definitely see myself fighting for a title in 2021.

KEVIN IOLE: Interesting. You know, I think a lot of the really hardcore fans will know this, but maybe some fans who were newer to the sport, not as hardcore won't know this, but you actually manage fighters, and you work with Ali Abdelaziz. And I think that is so fascinating that a guy your age and doing what you do as a fighter has a, you know, side hobby doing that.

DAN IGE: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: What impact does that-- you know, kind of being in negotiations and seeing how other fighters, you know, how you talk about their careers, does it help you, and does it push you, you know, along, give you any better understanding of what it takes to win?

DAN IGE: It really does because, you know, I definitely-- I see and I observe the business side of fighting every single day. And basically my life revolves around training and fighting, and this is my life as a martial artist. Sorry. Let me get away from these guys hitting pads.

But I-- for me, just because I see it so much and I'm around it so much, I'm so comfortable. I'm so relaxed every time I step in the ring because I've been there. I've seen it all. I know what the company is looking for in terms of, you know, going out and performing.

So that's why, you know, I always-- I try to make an exciting fight as possible, always looking for the finish, try to make it fan friendly and just put on a domination performance. So that's kind of-- I feel like having that second job in management really goes hand in hand with each other and definitely feeds the fire. So, yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: It also gives you a unique opportunity because I know you train occasionally with the lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. And, you know, there's only one Khabib, right? Khabib is unique unto himself, you know. But the fact that you get to work with him and roll with him and kind of behind the scenes how he carries himself and how he deals with the pressure, can you, you know-- anything specific that he has helped you with and made you better at just, you know, having trained with him and been with him?

DAN IGE: Yeah, definitely. And it's not only Khabib but-- we'll use him for this example, but I-- getting to surround myself with champions, guys at the highest level, and being able to feel them and train with them on a daily basis is like it's game changing for me, not only physically but mentally. Like, hey, I can go in there, you know, give the lightweight champion of the world, undefeated, 29 and 0, I could give him work. And we could go out there and grapple and spar and do whatever we do, but I'm hanging with these guys. It's not like I'm getting completely dominated.

So I'm just-- it makes me better physically, obviously picking up little tricks and tools. But my mindset, that's the biggest thing. And I think it's so important for fighting is a fighter's mindset and going out there, training with guys like Khabib, Justin Gaethje, Frankie Edgar, Kamaru Usman. Like, I try to get pushed by every single person I can.

So it's pretty awesome. It's a huge, unique opportunity that I get, and I'm very fortunate. So it's definitely formulated the fighter you see today, and I'm still getting better. I'm still growing, and I'm still rising to the top.

KEVIN IOLE: You're obviously not only a great athlete but you're just showing yourself to be a really intelligent, smart person. And you talked about the pandemic. Here you are fighting now in a time when, you know, hey, we don't know. There's a million cases of coronavirus in the US. You know, 50,000 people have died as we talk-- as we talk today. And you're going into a state in Jacksonville to fight where, you know, the cases are still on the rise in Florida. Did you ever have, A, any questions about fighting, and, B, you know, do you feel like the risk is worth the potential reward you get out of it?

DAN IGE: Yeah, it is a very unique situation. And originally I was sitting there kind of thinking to myself in the beginning of this whole thing and just kind of working out in my garage, saying to myself-- I had no plans to fight.

But I began to see the opportunities, and I know the UFC and everyone is taking the right precautionary measures to make this a healthy, safe event. So I decided to jump on the opportunity. And for me, everything stays the same. I'm still quarantined. I'm going bubble to bubble. I have-- I have specific training partners that I know they're quarantined. So we're going from one bubble to another bubble.

And it's just-- it's different. But, you know, I feel like in times like this, in-- you know, you could call it adversity. I thrive in adversity. So that's why I wanted to take this opportunity. And I definitely see the reward, you know, greater than the risk.

KEVIN IOLE: I don't know if you got a chance to talk to anybody who fought on the UFC Brasilia show, Dan. Obviously nobody in the building. To me, you know, MMA is such an emotional sport. And, you know, I hear you guys as fighters say a lot, you know, so much of it is in your head. And so now when you're fighting in a venue where there's no fans and you don't get those people to fire you up and give you that-- you know, maybe that extra [INAUDIBLE], how do you feel-- what do you anticipate that's going to be like, and where do you find the extra push when-- you know, maybe when you're getting tired and as things start to switch the other way?

DAN IGE: It's Different, but, in a way, I've been there before. You know, I have fought on the Contender Series. That was-- I wouldn't say it was a completely empty arena, but, like, I had a few of my family members and my coaches, maybe a few teammates that got in somehow. But it was a pretty empty arena, and I'd say that was pretty nerve wracking walking out, no music, no fans, right in front of Dana, Sean, Hunter, Mitch. So it was unique, but I'm ready, and I've prepared for this.

And I do a lot of training in isolation, especially now during this time. So just being able to push yourself and work hard when no one else sees it is-- it's not easy. And I know that's what I'm going to have to do in this fight because I'm not going to have the motivation from the fans yelling or screaming or maybe booing me. But I have to still go out there and summon my inner motivation and motivate myself.

Obviously I'll have my coaches, and I'll be able to hear them very well. But it'll be weird because there's a lot of different things to factor. Obviously we don't have the crowd, but you're going to hear every single punch. You're going to hear every single kick. You're probably going to hear us breathing. It's going to be weird. So the judges hear that stuff too, and that could play into a factor of judging fights. So I'm just going to try to dominate this fight and let it go my way.

KEVIN IOLE: I asked-- Dan, I asked somebody else this question. I can't remember who it was, and I'll get-- I know you've got to get rolling here pretty soon, so I'll [INAUDIBLE].

DAN IGE: No, you're good.

KEVIN IOLE: But I asked somebody else this question. And you can not only hear your instruction-- your corner's instructions but you can hear their corner's instructions, right?

DAN IGE: Yep.

KEVIN IOLE: When you hear what they're telling them to do, is there any-- like, will you be able to use that? Like you know, OK, he's trying to attack me this way. Do you think you'd be able to use that?

DAN IGE: So funny story. Actually in my last fight when I was fighting Mirsad, it was in the third round when I started kind of getting loose and just having fun in there. I heard his corner-- and don't get me wrong. It was main card. It was packed, Jon Jones fight. It was a full-out sold-out arena in Houston, and everyone was yelling. But I heard his corner specifically giving him commands. They were coming-- there were going double jab, cross. One, one, two. One, one, two.

And he wasn't doing anything, so I went one, one, two, and I hit him with it. And I was like, listen to your corners. Listen to your coaches. And right there, like, I saw his face. He gave a little smirk, and it just broke him mentally. So--

KEVIN IOLE: That's classic.

DAN IGE: I don't know, but maybe his corners will be talking to him in Portuguese. So I don't know Portuguese. But, you know, I know what he has to do, and I know what I have to do.

KEVIN IOLE: Sure.

DAN IGE: So--

KEVIN IOLE: Before I get out of here, did you-- have you been tested, or have they told you you're going to be tested before you fight?

DAN IGE: Yes, I believe I will be tested. I have not been tested. I have not shown any symptoms. It would be unfortunate if I tested positive, but I think I'll be OK, and I should be expecting a test very soon. I don't know what method of test, maybe the swab or whatnot. But we will be tested, myself and my cornermen, and I think everyone who has to be a part of the event will be tested. So yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: And I appreciate you. I'm wishing you the best of luck. You're one of the good guys in this sport, and you've got an amazing story, I mean doing what you do and coming from where you come from. Wish you all the best against Edson Barboza on May 16 in Jacksonville. Thank you for taking the time with me.

DAN IGE: Yeah, thank you so much, Kevin. It's an honor to speak with a legend like yourself. So anytime. Thank you.

KEVIN IOLE: Thanks, brother.