LAS VEGAS – Getting in a fight inside the cage seems like the most obvious battle of all for a UFC athlete, but sometimes there are internal forces at work that make things even more of a challenge.
Top featherweight contender Dan Ige has felt the pressure and the harm that can result if not channeled properly. Ahead of his UFC Fight Night 228 bout Saturday vs. Bryce Mitchell (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex, Ige (17-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) spoke openly about his struggle with perfectionistic tendencies and how he’s dealt with them.
“I’m not going to lie. I still struggle with it,” Ige told MMA Junkie and other reporters during a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I still struggle with perfectionism. I still struggle with trying to do everything right – and I do. But I also give myself a little grace. I kind of figured out and understand the important of brotherhood and friendship and community and I have a sports psychologist. We talk about it weekly. We talk about these things we all go through as human beings. I’m still human, so yes, I still deal with that. At the same time, I still deal with that but I know how to handle it a little bit better.”
Since his promotional debut in 2020, Ige has grown in front of an international audience not only as a competitor, but as a man – and even a father. With his wife expecting another child, Ige feels like he’s finally got the rhythm of fatherhood down. It was a learning process, but he’s better from it.
“I just didn’t understand my role in the beginning,” Ige said. “I put a ton of pressure on myself and I went through that rough season of life and losing and trying to do everything right. I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to be successful – and I wasn’t. That was just a hard season for me. But then I started to understand my role, what I could do. How can I be the best dad possible. Especially in those first couple years of life there’s really not a ton I could do to give my son life.
“That’s what my wife does. She’s such an amazing mother. She breeds, feeds, does everything for that child. Just for me to be there, be present, and then show up every single day and do what I do by going to work and being an example, standing back up when you fall, staying resilient, and just teaching him little examples in those ways. Yeah, man. I love being a dad. It’s probably the best thing ever.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
