Dan Ige sees Murphy as a reward after a short-notice fight at UFC 303

ABU DHABI – Dan Ige rejects the notion that he should have been awarded a bigger fight at UFC 308.

Ige (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) meets Lerone Murphy (14-0-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) on Saturday's main card at Etihad Arena (pay-per-view, ESPN+).

Ige suffered a short-notice loss to Diego Lopes at UFC 303 in June, where he stepped in just four hours in advance. Ige was promised a spot at UFC 306, but that didn't work out. Instead, he'll bring in the undefeated Murphy, but Ige sees a lot of upside in this fight.

“I understand the perspective, but I see this as a reward,” Ige told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 308 media day on Wednesday. “I get to compete against a guy who is higher than me in the rankings. Yes, he's undefeated, he's been tested against worthy competitors, but it all comes down to his confidence.

“Believe in me and my team. I think we have the plan to beat him and that's the beauty of this sport. Anything can happen in MMA, so I’m going to try to go out there and be the first to beat Lerone Murphy and I have every confidence I can do that.”

Ige has high regard for Murphy's abilities, but believes there is an important difference between them.

“I think we're pretty similar in a lot of ways in terms of our ability to fight from both stances,” Ige said. “He’s a little longer, a little more methodical in his movements and his feints. I definitely think there is a pretty big performance difference.

“I'm not going to go out and try to just land big punches, but I think you'll see that difference in the fight. When I hit him vs. when he hits me. It’s going to be a great fight, I can’t wait to go out there and test myself against a guy like Lerone.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 308 event hub.