UFC Fight Night: David Martinez vs Dan Ige Preview & Prediction

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The main card opens up with a bantamweight bout, seeing Mexico’s most in-form prospect against a featherweight mainstay dropping a division for the first time, David Martinez welcomes Dan Ige to 135.

David Martinez vs Dan Ige facts

What time are David Martinez and Dan Ige expected to walk out? 12 September 2026 at 10:15 pm

Where is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 288

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado main card

Jean Silva vs Jose Delgado (Featherweight)

Brandon Moreno vs Joseph Morales (Flyweight)

Tommy McMillen vs Marwan Rahiki (Featherweight)

Manon Fiorot vs Alexa Grasso (Women's Flyweight)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes (Heavyweight)

David Martinez vs Dan Ige (Bantamweight)

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado prelims

Tim Elliott vs Edgar Chairez (Flyweight)

Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight)

Yousri Belgaroui vs Djorden Santos (Middleweight)

Drakkar Klose vs Thomas Gantt (Lightweight)

Rafa Garcia vs Rong Zhu (Lightweight)

Sean King vs Jessie Rosas (Featherweight)

JJ Aldrich vs Regina Tarin (Women's Flyweight)

David Martinez: “Black Spartan” has built his recent reputation on beating veterans

David Martinez (14-1), the 28-year-old from Ecatepec is 3-0 in the UFC, having TKO’d Saimon Oliveira on his debut before outpointing Rob Font and then Marlon Vera across three rounds to reach #7 in the division. He is a technical, explosive striker with exceptional distance management, preferring short blitzing combinations and counters to extended exchanges, and he works angles as well as anyone at 135. Ten of his fourteen wins are knockouts, almost all of them to the head.

Dan Ige: “100 Grand” starts a new chapter late in his career, a division down

Dan Ige (19-11) drops to bantamweight in his 22nd UFC appearance, having spent his entire promotional career at featherweight. The 35-year-old has lost four of his last five, to Diego Lopes, Lerone Murphy, Patricio Pitbull and most recently Melquizael Costa, who became the first man to finish him inside the octagon, landing a spinning back kick with ten seconds left in the opening round. Ige is a pressure boxer, defensively sound in the pocket, with wrestling and BJJ behind him. He comes into this match up with a two inch height and three and a half reach advantage.

David Martinez vs Dan Ige prediction

Ige’s route is obvious and narrow. He carries the bigger frame down from featherweight and needs to use it early, because if this settles into a three-round striking contest Martinez wins comfortably on speed, volume and precision. The problem is that Ige has always been a slow starter and Martinez is the opposite, blitzing in and out before anyone has settled into their rhythm.

The weight cut is the real unknown. 21 fights at featherweight, 35 years old, and a body that has absorbed a decade of gruelling warfare is now being asked to make 135 lbs for the first time. Whatever Ige gains in relative size he may hand straight back in gas, and the tank is where this should be decided. Martinez slowed down against Vera but held his pace across three rounds with Font, and Ige’s game sits far closer to Font’s boxing than to Vera’s kick-heavy forward pressure.

The grappling is a tool as well and Martinez’s defensive wrestling will be tested if a shot gets timed off a blitz. But Ige has landed two takedowns across his last five fights, and timing one on a man moving laterally so much is easier said than done. Costa found his head with a spinning kick in February, the gate may now be open for Martinez. Martinez is a lock.

Prediction: David Martinez to win by KO/TKO