Brian Ortega is out of his main card fight against Renato Moicano at UFC 331 this coming Saturday night in Los Angeles after suffering a cut to his left eyebrow.

“This one hurts,” Ortega wrote on Instagram. “I have to pull out of the fight because of the stitches in my eye. I’m on weight, I’ve been training my ass off, and this has honestly been one of the best camps I’ve ever had. I was really looking forward to fighting at home in Los Angeles in front of my family, friends, and everyone who’s been supporting me.

“My next fight is in soon, so I’m getting right back to training. We’ve brought some new people into camp and I’m excited to show you guys a new side of me. Thank you to everyone who’s been supporting me through all of this. I’ll see you guys in November.”

With Ortega out, Moicano has now been taken off the UFC 331 line-up and will instead fight Tom Nolan in the main event of UFC Fight Night 292 on October 31st.

The 26-year-old Nolan holds an 11-1 career record, including a 5-1 run in the UFC so far. He suffered a 63 second TKO loss in his UFC debut at the start of 2024, but since then he’s been on a roll, winning five fights, including a unanimous decision victory over Fares Ziam back in June.

Now he lands a main event spot against an established veteran in the 37-year-old Moicano, who lost both of his fights last year, including an unsuccessful attempt to take the lightweight title from Islam Makhachev as a last-minute replacement, but has since got back on track with a 2nd round submission victory against Chris Duncan in April.

With Moicano vs. Ortega off the UFC 331 line-up, UFC.com now shows that a preliminary card fight between Gable Steveson and Sean Sharif has moved up to the opening spot on the main card of this weekend’s event.