Patricio Pitbull earned his first win inside the Octagon at UFC 318, outworking featherweight mainstay Dan Ige.
After spending half a round lighting up Ige’s lead leg with kicks, Pitbull shot in for a takedown, getting ’50K’ down to the mat near the fence. Ige offered up some solid takedown defense, using the cage to climb back to his feet before attempting to land an elbow on the break.
As we get into the second round, the live crowd in New Orleans is starting to grow frustrated with the lack of action, particularly on the side of Pitbull, who has been hesitant to throw anything substantial. Ige delivered some solid boxing in the first half of the stanza, but the former Bellator star finally started to find some success, connecting with a straight right hand that dropped Ige to his knee.
Pitbull picked up the pace, looking for the killshot, but Ige survived the onslaught. That prompted Pitbull to take Ige down, riding out the remainder of the round in top control.
Seconds into the third, Pitbull got caught with a head kick while moving in. Pitbull ate it and attempted to take Ige down to the mat once again. ’50K’ staved off the takedown and tried to fight his way back into the bout, but every time he started to throw hands, Pitbull would change levels.
Ige nearly connected with another high kick, but this time, Pitbull caught it and used it as an opportunity to put his man on the mat for the final time. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, we head to the scorecards for a decision.
Official Result: Patricio Pitbull def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Check Out Highlights From Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull at UFC 318:
