Two of Hawaii's most prominent fighters currently in the UFC have never been on the same card together, but that changes at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in one of the promotion's most stacked cards of the year. Waianae native Max Holloway and Kahuku's Dan Ige have been two of Hawaii's biggest history makers in the MMA scene thus far in 2024. Holloway stole the show at UFC 300 in April, winning the organization's 'BMF' belt, and doubled up on the organization's largest ever bonus allotment. Two and a half months later, Ige stepped in for the co-main event of UFC 303 on historically short notice, dropping a narrow unanimous decision to Diego Lopes just hours after agreeing to the catchweight bout. All the latest sports news from Hawaii's sports station Both have booked their next fights, and both bouts will take place at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. Holloway will look to reclaim his featherweight belt against current champion Ilia Topuria, while Ige, currently the 14th ranked featherweight, takes on No. 12 Lerone Murphy. Both Topuria and Murphy are undefeated. UFC 308 will serve as Holloway's 30th fight with the organization, while Ige's bout will serve as his 18th. Yet, the two had yet to appear on the same card. Ige believes a full camp will serve him well against Murphy, especially compared to the mere hours he had to prepare for Lopez. A recent trip home to the islands allowed Ige to reset mentally before he begins another climb up the UFC rankings. “Camp’s been great," Ige told KHON2. "Just in full routine right now. Feeling pretty good, my body’s feeling good, my endurance, my shape, my weight, everything. My timing, everything’s starting to come along really good. Speed, power, everything. Camp’s been great. It’s nice to give a little notice. I got a little downtime after my last fight. Went back home to Hawaii and hung out with family, ate some good food, got in the sun, got in the water and just came back fully recharged. Just been getting after it. Just feeling really, really good. Just ready to go. “I’m excited for the (Murphy) matchup. He’s a tough up-and-comer, undefeated. He’s young in the sport, young in the company. It’s a big challenge for me. I’m fighting up in the rankings, so it’s nice to have another opportunity to climb the ladder. I feel like I’ve earned my respect by now. I’ve fought some of the best in the world and I plan on bringing my A game, put on a good performance and show my best self and look to get another ‘W’ under my belt.” When asked about the events on June 29 that led to accepting the bout against Lopes at UFC 303, Ige recalls he was recovering after a hard morning training and getting a massage in order to get his body ready for another session in preparation for his July 20 bout against Chepe Mariscal. After a handful of missed calls from UFC president Dana White, Ige picked up the phone and accepted the bout. Ige, a Las Vegas resident, was already in the area. The original fight between Lopes and Brian Ortega, who withdrew on June 29 due to sickness, occurred at UFC 306 earlier in the month. Lopes won in a convincing unanimous decision. "Not every day you get a call from the big boss. You might get a call from the matchmaker here or there but getting a call from the big boss, you gotta answer," Ige recalled. "It’s crazy just to go there and make history. The decision didn’t go our way, but if anything, I gained a lot of confidence, especially seeing what Diego did this past weekend, beating No. 3 and making it look pretty easy. To go out there and go fight the now-No. 3 ranked guy on a couple hours notice, have a lot of good moments in that fight and rounds just gives me confidence in my ability and what I can do and what I can achieve and it takes a lot of the pressure off. "We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in fight camps and doing everything right and that was just a wild card, right? I have to go against all my core values of preparation and being ready and timing everything and peaking at the right time to just saying, ‘Screw it, let’s scrap.’ You don’t have to think there. You just go out there and have fun and fight. That’s what we did, right? No gameplan, just went out there and fought and had our moments but there’s a lot to take away from it and apply to myself now to just be better and look forward to the next one.” As for his fight against Mariscal, Ige said he would have proceeded with the fight had he exited the Lopes bout unscathed. At the same time, after taking some damage to parts of his body, he wanted to be realistic about it. Wanting to stay active after doing the organization a solid, Ige was hopeful he'd get his name called for UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the first live sporting event held there. Instead, he'll compete in Abu Dhabi, where two of Hawaii's biggest MMA stars have aligned. "Just stoked. It’s a big one for him to go and get his belt back and for me to start the wave, kick the wave off and we’ll just keep the momentum going all night," he said. “Anytime I share a card with a friend, a teammate, someone from the same island as me or anything, it makes you feel good. Just energy. Anytime I fought with Brad Tavares or Puna Soriano or any of the guys from Hawaii, it always gave me excitement to go out there and perform well. "Especially since I’m fighting first, it’s like I want to go out there and I want Max to see my fight and have good energy and take that with him into his fight. I think it just helps, we help each other out. We’re gonna go out there and Abu Dhabi’s a long way from home so when you’re out there and see a familiar face, it’s nice. It’s a good feeling and we’ll definitely just be rooting for each other try to do the best.” During Ige's recent trip home, he was able to have a training session with Holloway at Gracie Technics in Honolulu. “It was a busy time seeing family and everything but I did want to make it a point to go down there and try to get one or two sessions in with Yancy (Medeiros) and Max and all the boys and it was great," Ige said. "Everyone was welcoming. We all got some rounds and it was nice. Max is feeling sharp and ready and really good. I’ve trained with him since back in his first fight in the UFC against Dustin Poirier. Just to see his journey come along and win the belt and now he’s one of the best to ever do it. I’m just excited.” When asked about sharing a card with Ige, Holloway shared his level of enthusiasm. “I think it’ll be huge," Holloway said. "I had a bunch of these moments with a bunch of my teammates. Me and Martin (Day) have fought on cards before, me and Yancy have fought on some big cards before and got some big wins together. Me and Dan, we used to train together a little when he came out to Hawaii this last trip, so it’s good. It’s always exciting having another Hawaiian on the card and we get to show what Hawaiian MMA is about.” Beyond the shared card with Holloway and the hope of fighting his way back into featherweight title contention, Ige's biggest motivation resides at home. He and his wife, Savannah, had their second child, a baby girl named Maxx, in March, joining their 3-year-old son, Bam. “Being a dad, at first I didn’t know how to balance or handle my emotions of being a dad and being a fighter and being a provider. I put a lot of pressure on myself and as I’m maturing more as a dad and as a human, it just only benefits me," Ige said. "Just being able to set an example and lead by example and have my little army that are all cheering for me no matter what, and they love me the same no matter what. It just simplifies your life. It gives you structure, shows you what really matters. I think that’s what it’s all about, just setting up everything for the future generation. Being a dad has been my greatest achievement in life and again I’m just excited to go out there and continue to lead by example and continue to accomplish everything I can.”