Kris Moutinho Aiming To Bounce Back From Debut Defeat, Scheduled To Face Aaron Phillips
After a brutal debut against UFC rising star Sean O’Malley, Kris Moutinho’s next fight is reportedly scheduled.
Moutinho will take on Aaron Phillips in a bantamweight bout set for the upcoming UFC event on October 23. No location or venue has been announced yet.
Moutinho (9-5) made his UFC debut at UFC 264 against experienced O’Malley (14-1). Fans thought that he took this fight as the ticket to the UFC. Despite the loss, he still fought hard.
He was eating lots of punches and kept moving forward. At the end of third round, the referee stopped this contest, and O’Malley earned another TKO/KO victory to his record.
Still, the fighter isn’t counting himself out and said that in five rounds, he could defeat O’Malley.
“I feel like he was getting a little scared towards the end,” Moutinho said. “He was a little scared towards the end. If that were a five-round fight, he would have been a little more. I think I was pushing him; I think he was tired. I think I was going at a pace that eventually, he would have worn down of.”
Next up Moutiho is facing Philips.
Phillips lost his debut in 2020. He was defeated by Jack Shore in the second round via submission Rear-Naked Choke. Since then, he has never competed in the UFC.
Here’s how the October 23 card looks right now:
- Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori
- Randa Markos vs. Livinha Souza
- Daniel Lacerda vs. Jeff Molina
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Jun Yong Park vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Mason Jones vs. Alan Patrick
- Kris Moutinho vs. Aaron Phillips