Get to know Kris Moutinho, Sean O’Malley’s opponent for UFC 264

The UFC has been on the search for a few days to hook up a bantamweight fighter against Sean O’Malley (13-1) at UFC 264 after Louis Smolka (17-7) withdrew due to staph infection.

On Wednesday, Sean O’Malley revealed that Kris Moutinho (9-4) has taken up the fight on short notice. Both bantamweights will clash on July 10, with Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier headlining the UFC 264 main-event.

At first, the UFC approached Ricky Simmon for the fight, but he reportedly did not make the weight. And O’Malley, who is generally active on social media, did not shy away from taking it up to Twitter.

Now he can’t make weight 🤣

— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) June 30, 2021

The 26-year-old first broke the news of fighting Kris Moutinho on his Twitch stream.
Simmon’s absence has paved the way for Moutinho to impress the UFC management on his debut. The 28-year-old has risen to fame for his decent performances in the Rhode-Island based Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES MMA).

In May, he defeated Andrew Salas on his Cage Fury Fighting Championship debut via a third-round arm-triangle choke. A few months after the CFFC 96, Moutinho is now eyeing for the second win of the calendar year.

O’Malley is the firm favorite in the contest. He’s two years younger than Moutinho, but being with the UFC since July 2017 has transformed him into an elite fighter