Dana White doesn’t view Brian Ortega’s withdrawal from UFC 303 as a serious downgrade.

Fighter Dan Ige stepped in on three hours discover to struggle Diego Lopez, Ortega’s challenger, in Saturday’s struggle and UFC president Dana White stated the change was one thing that might make the struggle a notable one.

“That is the s–t legends are manufactured from,” White stated. Each of those guys accepted the struggle on brief discover and we’ll see the way it performs out tonight.”

Lopes enters with a 24-6 report whereas Ige is available in with a 18-7 report. It’s the first time the 2 have confronted off of their careers. Lopes final fought in April 2024 whereas Ige’s final struggle got here in February 2024.

The Lopes-Ortega struggle was set to be the co-main card with Anthony Smith-Roman Dolidze, Mayra Bueno Silva-Macy Chiasson, Alex Pereira-Jiří Procházka and Ian Machado Garry-Michael Web page. Ige’s leap into the struggle saved it inside that fundamental spot, which was an unprecedented occasion in UFC historical past.

Ortega was not the one fighter to drag out of UFC 303, even when he was the most recent. Different notable dropouts included Conor McGregor and Jamahal Hill.