Beating Landwehr won’t help Ige climb the rankings and he’s fine with that. But the heavy-handed Hawaiian knows that knocking out Jackson was the first step toward getting back to where he was in 2021 – main events and title contention. Taking care of business this weekend versus Landwehr is the second step and gets the ball rolling for him to earn a ranked opponent his next time out.
“I don’t look at this from a ranking perspective. Right now, I’m in the process of rebuilding my name; my resume, so to say,” Ige said. “Obviously, a win isn’t going to put me up in the rankings because he isn’t ranked but it will get me the momentum. I’m just trying to rebuild myself and it starts with Nate. I can’t look past that.”
UFC 289 FREE FIGHTS: Nunes vs Peña 2 | Aldana vs Chiasson | Dariush vs Gamrot | Aldana vs Correia | Oliveira vs Chandler | Nunes vs Shevchenko 2
Ige likes to map out his year and think a few fights ahead at a time. He knows things can change in an instant, but thinking ahead allows him to be realistic.
But something is telling him that 2023 is going to be a big year.
UFC 289 Embedded: All Episodes
“I have this feeling in my heart that the second half of this year is going to be better than the first half,” Ige said. “I’ve had a great first half of the year. Obviously started off in January with a big win and performance, but quarter three or quarter four is going to be the best part of the year.
“It starts with Nate Landwehr, and it goes from there.”
