The fight took place at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Lopes won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 29-28.
This was the first time a fighter replaced another on the day of the fight without weighing in the day before. Ige, who was at T-Mobile Arena, weighed in at 164.5 pounds just hours before the fight, while Lopes weighed in at 161.5 pounds. They quickly agreed to fight to help keep the event going despite injuries.
"Ige said in his post-fight interview, 'It doesn't matter if it's eight weeks, six weeks, four weeks, or four hours. This is what I live for. It's my dream. I get to wake up and do what I love.'"
When Ige learned that the co-main event might not happen, he sent a direct message to UFC's chief business officer, Hunter Campbell, at 4:18 p.m., which was less than three hours before the main card was scheduled to begin.
Ige's message to Hunter said, "I've been training for 3 months. I'm the healthiest I've ever been, and I can fight and beat this guy tonight. This is what legends are made of. I'm ready and in great shape. Please give me this chance."
Ortega was chosen to fight Lopes in the co-main event at short notice because Conor McGregor had to withdraw from his main event against Michael Chandler due to a broken toe, just over two weeks before the event. Ortega had trouble losing weight for the featherweight fight at 145 pounds and arranged to change the fight to lightweight (155 pounds) early Friday morning.
Ortega appeared visibly unwell during the official weigh-in on Friday morning, and there were reports that he was dealing with an illness as UFC 303 began.
Ige fought for the first time since defeating Andre Fili with a first-round knockout in February.
SOURCE: ESPN