Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy in the works for UFC 308

Dan Ige is getting back to work.

The veteran UFC featherweight is expected to meet Lerone Murphy in a re-booked battle of ranked contenders on Oct. 26 at UFC 308, sources close to the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck on Wednesday.

Ige vs. Murphy was previously scheduled for UFC Vegas 86 in February, however Murphy withdrew due to injury and Ige instead knocked out Andre Fili in the first round.

Ige (18-8) was then booked to face Joanderson Brito — and then replacement opponent Chepe Mariscal — on July 20 at UFC Vegas 94, but was memorably pulled from that contest to fight Diego Lopes on just hours’ notice at UFC 303. Competing as a last-second replacement for Brian Ortega at a 165-pound catchweight, Ige lost to Lopes via decision.

He now gets thrown back into the fire against Murphy (14-0-1), an undefeated contender who captured a Fight of the Night victory over Edson Barboza in his most recent outing in May, which also doubled as Murphy’s first UFC main event. A 33-year-old Englishman, Murphy has won six consecutive UFC bouts since making his promotional debut with a split draw against Zubaira Tukhugov in 2019.

UFC 308 takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.