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Brian Ortega out of UFC 331 fight, Renato Moicano to headline UFC Vegas 123 against surging contender

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Brian Ortega out of UFC 331 fight, Renato Moicano to headline UFC Vegas 123 against surging contender

UFC 331 this weekend has taken a hit as Brian Ortega is out of his lightweight fight against Renato Moicano.

Ortega and Moicano were set to rematch in a fun fight. The two fought back at UFC 214 in 2017, with Ortega winning by submission and winning the Fight of the Night Award.

Now, over eight years later, the two were supposed to rematch, but this time at lightweight in a pivotal fight for both of their careers as they are both looking to remain in the title picture. Yet, just days before UFC 331, Ortega was forced out of the bout due to an injury, the UFC announced.

Ortega hasn't fought since August of 2025 when he dropped a decision to Aljamain Sterling. He's on a two-fight losing skid and is 1-4 in his last five.

Although Ortega is out of the bout, Moicano was also removed from the card, as a short-notice opponent wasn't found. Instead, the UFC announced that Moicano will headline UFC Vegas 123 on October 31 against surging lightweight contender Tom Nolan.

“As a result, Moicano will now face No. 11 ranked contender Tom Nolan in the main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT taking place on October 31 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Moicano steps into his fourth UFC main event looking for another signature stoppage victory as he takes on the rising Australian Nolan who is on an impressive five-fight win streak,†the UFC wrote in a press release.

Moicano is coming off a submission win over Chris Duncan to return to the win column. Nolan, meanwhile, is ranked 14th in the UFC's lightweight division.

With Moicano vs. Ortega off UFC 331, the card is as follows:

UFC 331

  • Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja – for flyweight title
  • Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
  • Patricio Pitbull vs. Doo Ho Choi
  • Iwo Baraniewski vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf
  • Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne
  • Michael Aswell Jr. vs. Joo Sang Yoo
  • Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz
  • Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira
  • Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura
  • Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito

Stay locked to BJPENN.com all week for your UFC 331 coverage.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Eddie Hearn calls Dana White ‘completely cooked’ over Fury-Joshua role

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Eddie Hearn calls Dana White ‘completely cooked’ over Fury-Joshua role
The Tyson
Fury-Anthony
Joshua fight is official, but the promotional dispute between
Dana
White and Eddie Hearn shows no signs of fading.

Fury and Joshua are scheduled to meet Dec. 11 at Principality
Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with the bout set to stream on Netflix.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO has maintained that he will
be involved with the event, while Hearn has repeatedly disputed his
role, with the latest point of contention centering on television
production.

Eddie Hearn disputes Dana White's claimed production role in
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

White was asked about the Fury-Joshua saga during the UFC
332 post-fight press conference, where he reiterated his
involvement in the heavyweight showdown and said the UFC's
production team is handling the event.

“We're producing the show. Just like Canelo-Crawford, same thing,â€
White said. “Craig Borsari, Zach, my whole team. We will be
producing the show. I'll have my little phone on the table just
like tonight and every other show that I produce. I'll be there.
I'm producing it. I'm promoting it. I'll see you in Wales.â€

Hearn responded during a recent press conference, disputing White's
claims.

“To be honest with you at this point, I think he's completely
cooked,†Hearn said. “What he actually said was, ‘We are doing the
TV production,' which again in the contract is prohibited.â€

Hearn said he subsequently contacted SELA, the Saudi-based company
involved in the event, and claimed he was told White could not take
on the role he described.

“After that video, I spoke to SELA and I said, ‘Have you seen this
video?' They said, ‘Yes, and it's completely untrue.' He cannot do
that under the contract.â€

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Rampage Jackson thinks King Green may have been saved from himself in UFC 332 loss: "

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Rampage Jackson thinks King Green may have been saved from himself in UFC 332 loss: "

Quinton “Rampage†Jackson believes King Green may have been too tough for his own good this past Saturday.

Green collided with Esteban Ribovics on the UFC 332 main card in Salt Lake City. There was some bad blood going into this one after Green's team confronted Ribovics for missing weight. In the end, it was Ribovics who got the last laugh as he delivered several knockdowns to earn the first-round TKO finish.

While Green has said he wishes referee Herb Dean gave him more time to recover, Jackson told Nina Drama that the fan favorite lightweight was likely saved (h/t MMAMania).

“You put on a show before you worry about your own safety,†Jackson said. “We don't think about the wear and tear that we have on our body. That's what they be thinking about. Like, my brother, I wanted to see you win but that might have been a bad decision. What we don't think about in fighting is that s–t adds up.â€

Jackson made a rare appearance as a cornerman for Green, and he said it was difficult for him to deny the request.

“I don't really corner,†Jackson said. “Bobby asked me to corner him and all that stuff, I was like, ‘Ah, I don't wanna do all that stuff.' But, he's such a good guy, I didn't want to say no.â€

“Rampage†admitted that it was tough seeing Green suffer a TKO loss, but it comes with the territory of being a prizefighter.

“Bobby's an entertainer, he's going to bring it no matter what,†Jackson continued. “It's just, for me, he's my boy, he's like my brother. It just sucks seeing one of your boys get beat but it happens. It's part of the job.â€

Green will have to reassess what went wrong before his next outing, which likely won't be until 2027. His three-fight winning streak is over, but Green is no stranger to rebounding from defeat.

What do you think should be next for King Green? Let us know in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335

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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has a stacked year-ender taking
shape in Las Vegas.

Charles Oliveira will defend his BMF title against Diego Lopes
at UFC 335 in Las Vegas

During Saturday’s UFC
332 card, the UFC announced that Charles
Oliveira will make his Octagon return against Diego Lopes
with the honorific “BMF†championship on the line in the UFC
335 headliner. Oliveira (37-11, 1 NC; 25-11, 1 NC UFC) claimed
the BMF crown at UFC 326 after upending Max
Holloway on all scorecards. Prior to that, “do Bronxs†forced
Mateusz
Gamrot to tap to a face crank in their UFC Fight Night 261
encounter in October 2025.

Lopes (28-8, 7-3 UFC) had to weather the storm against Steve
Garcia in their UFC White House encounter, but he ultimately
scored a second-round knockout victory. The Lobo Gym MMA
representative bounced back after losing a one-sided decision to
Alexander
Volkanovski in their rematch at UFC 325.

On the same card, former two-division titleholder Alex
Pereira (13-4, 10-3 UFC) will try to score his first win at
heavyweight when he faces Sergei
Pavlovich. Pereira failed to become a three-division champion
when he lost to Ciryl Gane
in the UFC White House co-main event in June. Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3
UFC) smashed Tallison
Teixeira 39 seconds into the UFC Macau co-headliner. The winner
could be close to a shot at the divisional championship.

UFC 335 will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. The card will also
feature a middleweight tilt between rising contenders Joe Pyfer and
Bo
Nickal.

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