Brian Ortega (16-5) has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 331 fight this Saturday against Renato Moicano (21-7-1) due to suffering a severe cut above his left eye.
This is the second time the 35-year-old, who has not fought since August 2025, has withdrawn from his rematch vs Moicano this year – he previously pulled out of their March fight due to injury as well, however Ortega said “this one hurts” since this was set to be his lightweight debut in his home of Los Angeles.
“I have to pull out of the fight because of the stitches in my eye,” Ortega said.
After a succession of third-round stoppage victories to start his UFC career, including a submission victory over Moicano in July 2017, Ortega’s fortunes flipped with his 2018 loss to Max Holloway. He has lost four of his last five fights while struggling to make the featherweight limit.
Ortega hopes a move to lightweight halts his losing run, and though he won’t compete on September 19, he said he will fight again in November.
Moicano, meanwhile, has been rebooked to headline a UFC Fight Night card on October 31 against the rising lightweight Aussie, Tom Nolan, at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.