Renato Moicano will reportedly fight Brian Ortega in a lightweight fight at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19th.
The match-up will see the 35-year-old Ortega move up to 155lbs for the first time after a majorly botched weight cut for his last fight against Aljamain Sterling saw him tip the scales 7lbs over the featherweight limit.
It’s not the first time Ortega has failed to make weight, and after being incredibly lethargic during a unanimous decision loss to Sterling the decision to move up a division has finally been made.
Now the former 145lb title challenger will go up against the 37-year-old Moicano, who is coming off a submission win over Chris Duncan.
However, the No.7 ranked Moicano had lost two fights beforehand, including an unsuccessful short-notice attempt to win the title against Islam Makhachev in January of last year that he lost by 1st round submission, and a unanimous decision defeat to Beneil Dariush.
Moicano vs. Ortega joins a UFC 331 event that doesn’t yet have a confirmed headliner, though there’s rumors that a symbolic ‘BMF’ title fight between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan could take that spot, while Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain and Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire vs. Doo Ho Choi are officially confirmed.
