Latest news with #Ige
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
UFC 318: Patricio Freire gets sophomore assignment vs. Dan Ige in New Orleans
UFC 318: Patricio Freire gets sophomore assignment vs. Dan Ige in New Orleans Ask and you shall receive. It looks like the UFC heard Dan Ige's recent callout and obliged, booking him against former two-division Bellator champion Patricio Freire for UFC 318 – a pay-per-view event that's set to go down July 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with two sources following a report from Super Lutas on Tuesday. Both Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) and Freire (36-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) fought at UFC 314 in April in different bouts. Ige stopped fellow veteran Sean Woodson, while Freire lost his UFC debut in a unanimous decision against Yair Rodriguez. With the victory, Ige was able to snap a two-fight losing skid that had him dropping decisions against top contenders Diego Lopes and Lerone Murphy. On the other hand, Freire, who's arguably the most successful fighter in Bellator history, fell into a 1-3 rut. Prior to debuting for the UFC, "Pitbull" stopped Jeremy Kennedy and lost to Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis. Current UFC 318 lineup
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC's Dan Ige still interested in Patricio Freire fight, but not stuck on it
UFC's Dan Ige still interested in Patricio Freire fight, but not stuck on it Featherweight eyes former Bellator two-division champ after KO of Woodson Dan Ige is happy to fight Patricio Freire next – if it can happen this summer. Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) finished Sean Woodson by third-round TKO last month at UFC 314, and is aiming for a quick turnaround. In a recent episode of MMA Junkie's Spinning Back Clique, his head coach Eric Nicksick campaigned for a fight against former Bellator two-division champion Patricio Freire (36-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Ige revealed that the UFC is also interested, but he hasn't heard any recent developments. "I'm not solely stuck on it," Ige told MMA Junkie Radio of Freire. "There was interest from the company, from matchmakers – there's just no date. I don't know if it actually happens. There's been no further conversations about it. There's some other featherweight fights: (David) Onama got a win over Giga (Chikadze). He's now kind of in the conversation, (along with Youssef) Zalal. There's a lot of guys that could fight. "So I'm not stuck and waiting on one guy. If I just have an opportunity, and a date, and a location, I'll be happy. I like the 'Pitbull' fight. Obviously, it's a risk. There's no number next to his name, but he's a legend of the sport, one of the pound-for-pound best in my opinion, and it would just be a great challenge for me to test myself against a vet like that, and a huge win on my resume. So we'll see what happens." Nicksick said Ige had a bit of an issue with his foot from the Woodson fight, but the always active featherweight likes Freire's suggestion of International Fight Week. "Pitbull" took to X to create a poll on who fans want to see him fight next, and Ige got the most votes. "I'm just kind of healing up, training, waiting," Ige said. "(Freire) had talked about June 29. I'm cool with that. If it's later, I'm cool with that, too. I definitely want to try to get another fight this summer, though."
USA Today
14-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dan Ige sees no issue with stoppage of Sean Woodson at UFC 314
MIAMI – Dan Ige met the media Saturday after his third-round TKO over Sean Woodson at UFC 314. The finish on the prelims at Kaseya Center came with controversy. Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) stopped Sean Woodson (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) with a third-round TKO, but Woodson immediately protested the stoppage, saying he was covering up from Ige's punches. Many observers looked at it as a fight in which Ige snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, thinking Woodson won the first two rounds. But when the scorecard was released, Ige actually had won the first two rounds from all three judges, meaning he didn't need the stoppage to get the win. 'I've got to watch the fight back, but in the moment my thoughts were I hurt him,' Ige said at his post-fight news conference. 'I hurt him pretty bad. I ripped to his body, he shot for a takedown, which you never see him do, and I probably would've just kept hitting him. I don't get to choose when the ref jumps in. I just keep punching until the ref says stop.' Ige said the win was key for him to get rolling again after three losses in four fights. Ige never has been finished in his nine losses; all have come by decision. Check out Ige's post-fight news conference in the video above. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hemp fight moves to City Hall as aldermen debate regulation, tax
The fight over the future of hemp in Chicago moved to the City Council Thursday, weeks after a push by Mayor Brandon Johnson helped block state legislation to strictly license, tax and regulate the often high-inducing products. As aldermen sparred in a council committee meeting alongside dueling hemp sellers and marijuana dispensary owners, the council appeared far from agreement on the safety and fairness of potential local regulations — despite all sides agreeing that the unregulated product that can get users high must face some restrictions. While no vote was taken Thursday, the possibility of an ordinance to allow hemp's continued widespread sale in Chicago won a critical early sign of approval from the Johnson administration. The city should take the unprecedented step to add hemp rules that 'mirror regulations' on substances like alcohol and marijuana, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige told aldermen. Ige's recommendations included adding retailer permits and licenses, products testing requirements and packaging rules. She also recommended 'strict control of contaminants' and maximum dosage rules. While much of the discussion centered around safety, control over yet-to-be-imposed taxes on the widely consumed products loomed over the debate. Earlier this month, Johnson's team launched a high-effort lobbying push to block Pritzker-backed state legislation that had passed in the state Senate with nearly no opposition. Smoke shops and other stores that sell hemp products argued the legislation was so restrictive that it would put many of them out of business. The legislation was not brought up for a vote in the Illinois House. At the time, Ald. William Hall — who first proposed a hemp tax last fall as a potential solution to earn the city more revenue — called the push to pass the now-stalled bill 'political bullying.' As he led the hearing Thursday, Hall did not share an ordinance detailing the broad regulations he and Ige recommended. He also did not share tax proposals on the products, despite having included five-year revenue estimates on a potential hemp tax in November. The City Council's no-vote hearing to explore hemp regulation followed a barrage of news conferences from competing interests. First, a group of marijuana dispensary owners argued their businesses would be unfairly undercut if Chicago legitimizes hemp sales with customized regulation. The speakers aligned with the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois called for hemp to be regulated under the same state rules that govern marijuana sales. 'If it gets you high, it should be regulated under Illinois' cannabis regulation,' said Reese Xavier, owner of HT23 Growers. 'This product should not receive a separate and special deal.' At a later news conference, several aldermen more flatly opposed to the sale of hemp products accused Hall and Johnson of brushing aside safety concerns with the aim of bringing in more tax revenue. 'You can't put your morals aside because the city wants to make a buck,' Ald. Silvana Tabares said. Tabares, 23rd, passed legislation to effectively block future hemp product sales from her Southwest Side ward earlier this month. But Hall, 6th, insisted in his own news conference that his bid for hemp regulations 'is not an opportunity for blood money.' The dozens of Chicago smoke shops that sell hemp products should not be 'penalized' or 'destroyed' by the stricter regulations that have stalled at the state level. The state plan would amount to a 'prohibition,' Hall said. He argued that the legislation was really a push by wealthy marijuana companies to box out stores selling hemp products. 'The disagreement is coming from who wants to own the industry,' he said. 'That's greed.'
Chicago Tribune
30-01-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Hemp fight moves to City Hall as aldermen debate regulation, tax
The fight over the future of hemp in Chicago moved to the City Council Thursday, weeks after a push by Mayor Brandon Johnson helped block state legislation to strictly license, tax and regulate the often high-inducing products. As aldermen sparred in a council committee meeting alongside dueling hemp sellers and marijuana dispensary owners, the council appeared far from agreement on the safety and fairness of potential local regulations — despite all sides agreeing that the unregulated product that can get users high must face some restrictions. While no vote was taken Thursday, the possibility of an ordinance to allow hemp's continued widespread sale in Chicago won a critical early sign of approval from the Johnson administration. The city should take the unprecedented step to add hemp rules that 'mirror regulations' on substances like alcohol and marijuana, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige told aldermen. Ige's recommendations included adding retailer permits and licenses, products testing requirements and packaging rules. She also recommended 'strict control of contaminants' and maximum dosage rules. While much of the discussion centered around safety, control over yet-to-be-imposed taxes on the widely consumed products loomed over the debate. Earlier this month, Johnson's team launched a high-effort lobbying push to block Pritzker-backed state legislation that had passed in the state Senate with nearly no opposition. Smoke shops and other stores that sell hemp products argued the legislation was so restrictive that it would put many of them out of business. The legislation was not brought up for a vote in the Illinois House. At the time, Ald. William Hall — who first proposed a hemp tax last fall as a potential solution to earn the city more revenue — called the push to pass the now-stalled bill 'political bullying.' As he led the hearing Thursday, Hall did not share an ordinance detailing the broad regulations he and Ige recommended. He also did not share tax proposals on the products, despite having included five-year revenue estimates on a potential hemp tax in November. The City Council's no-vote hearing to explore hemp regulation followed a barrage of news conferences from competing interests. First, a group of marijuana dispensary owners argued their businesses would be unfairly undercut if Chicago legitimizes hemp sales with customized regulation. The speakers aligned with the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois called for hemp to be regulated under the same state rules that govern marijuana sales. 'If it gets you high, it should be regulated under Illinois' cannabis regulation,' said Reese Xavier, owner of HT23 Growers. 'This product should not receive a separate and special deal.' At a later news conference, several aldermen more flatly opposed to the sale of hemp products accused Hall and Johnson of brushing aside safety concerns with the aim of bringing in more tax revenue. 'You can't put your morals aside because the city wants to make a buck,' Ald. Silvana Tabares said. Tabares, 23rd, passed legislation to effectively block future hemp product sales from her Southwest Side ward earlier this month. But Hall, 6th, insisted in his own news conference that his bid for hemp regulations 'is not an opportunity for blood money.' The dozens of Chicago smoke shops that sell hemp products should not be 'penalized' or 'destroyed' by the stricter regulations that have stalled at the state level. The state plan would amount to a 'prohibition,' Hall said. He argued that the legislation was really a push by wealthy marijuana companies to box out stores selling hemp products. 'The disagreement is coming from who wants to own the industry,' he said. 'That's greed.'
