news announced by the fighter in question.
One
Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite just proved that
the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
On Thursday, Dan Ige—who is
currently the No. 14 featherweight on the UFC’s Official Rankings—posted on
social
media that he was disallowed to wear red shorts for his
upcoming tussle with Melquizael
Costa at
UFC Houston in February. According to the Hawaiian, his request
for shorts is limited to the locales he is permitted to
represent.
The man once known as “Dynamite” posted a segment of a message from
UFC or Venum staff, who explained that he is only allowed to
represent the U.S. or “universal,” meaning no country, when he
walks out on Feb. 21. This obstacle hearkens back to the
bizarre situation that middleweight Anthony
Hernandez faced where he was allegedly forced to prove his
family lineage to rep Mexico. Ige claimed that the promotion
declined to let him choose other countries because he did not have
high enough of a percentage elsewhere from his genealogy study
results.
“Apparently, I can’t wear red shorts (even though I have 3 times in
my 20 UFC fights) for my upcoming fight because USA does not have
red. Even though Red symbolizes hardiness and valor in the American
flag. And my Ancestry.com results aren’t enough to represent Japan.
Anyone know what country camo is? Or pink? Or Orange? [To] Venum:
but I can wear purple???,” Ige wrote,
slightly edited for clarity.
The Spirit of the Red, White and Blue
Per the image posted by Ige along with his message, he showed that
the promotion is requiring documentation for specific national
representation on his shorts. He protested this, considering that
as recent as April 2025—when the UFC and Venum had already been
partners—he wore red shorts when he faced Sean
Woodson.
“Unfortunate, USA does not have Red as an option,” the alleged post
from the UFC and/or Venum staff wrote. “If there isn’t a country
that you can provide documentation for that has red as a fight
short color option. You would have to represent USA or
Universal.”
It continued, limiting the Hawaiian to just four choices for his
next fight, “USA fight short color options: Blue/black/white.
Universal fight short color options: Purple/black/white.”
In addition to his 2025 bout with Woodson, Ige previously competed
with red shorts when he collided with Andre Fili in
February 2024. He also wore the red variety during his 2017
appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The frustrated featherweight has since further commented on this
matter, jokingly asking fellow fighter Jeremy
Kennedy if he could borrow his Canadian passport as those from
Canada are currently allowed to wear red shorts. He subsequently
agreed that he could “color [his] white shorts with the blood of
[his] opponent,” as suggested by social media user accelrationrx.
The Honolulu native also requested
that AI tool Grok create him some custom red shorts with a Hawaiian
theme and his preferred bible verse.
Since this brouhaha developed on social media, Ige and his team
behind the scenes have been in contact with the promotion. Per
“50K,” the situation is now resolved. Hours after his initial posts
on Thursday, he provided a positive update about his request.
“Update: I’m getting red shorts,” he wrote,
along with a saluting emoji as well as one of the American
flag.
Apparently I can’t wear red shorts (even
though I have 3 times in my 20 @ufc fights) for
my upcoming fight because USA does not have red. Even though Red
symbolizes hardiness and valor in the American flag. And my
results aren’t enough to represent Japan.… pic.twitter.com/PIAyJUGZLn— Dan
Ige (@Dynamitedan808)
January 29, 2026