Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige Booked on UFC 269 in December

BREAKING: Multiple sources inform me Josh Emmett has booked his UFC return against Dan Ige at #UFC269. This card is amazing. https://t.co/piGxeq51Oa

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) October 22, 2021

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Top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweights will dance on a card that is already stacked from bow to stern.

The year-end UFC pay-per-view card of UFC 269, which already has a full main card as listed by the organization, has gained another major fight. Josh Emmett (16-2) will make his return after a year and a half away to take on Dan Ige (15-4) in a battle that practically guarantees action from bell to bell. The news of this Dec. 11 booking was first reported by BJPenn.com late on Thursday, and it was subsequently by multiple outlets and the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Friday.

The fight will be Emmett’s first since he took on Shane Burgos in a “Fight of the Night” battle across three rounds at UFC on ESPN 11 in June 2020. The 36-year-old out of Team Alpha Male is currently riding a three-fight win streak, with knockouts of Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic leading up to his battle with Burgos. This win streak is currently the longest in his UFC tenure, as a pair of victorious two-fight stretches ended when Desmond Green and Jeremy Stephens defeated him in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Ige’s only two UFC headlining appearances, coming in 2020 and 2021, saw him drop five-round unanimous decisions to Calvin Kattar and Chan Sung Jung. Those two losses surrounded a 22-second knockout of Gavin Tucker in March. Before falling short to Kattar, Ige had won six bouts in a row, beating the likes of Edson Barboza, Bektic and Kevin Aguilar as he worked his way up the featherweight ladder.

The overstuffed UFC 269 event on Dec. 11 will be held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with two title fights atop the big show. Headlining the event is a much-anticipated lightweight clash as Charles Oliveira tries to defend his belt for the first time against ex-interim champ Dustin Poirier. The co-main event draws a bantamweight championship affair when Amanda Nunes looks to hold an iron grip on her throne against Julianna Pena. Other main card tilts include Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal at welterweight, Kai Kara France against Cody Garbrandt in the flyweight division, and Raulian Paiva against Sean O'Malley at 135 pounds.