Injured Brian Ortega pulled from UFC 331, ‘Money’ paid with Halloween main event (at Apex)
Canceled AGAIN.
The long-awaited, heated rematch between Brian Ortega and Renato Moicano was supposed to go down at UFC 331 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 19, 2026) inside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Unfortunately, it’s not happening anymore.
Ortega has withdrawn from the Lightweight matchup because of an undisclosed injury (this, perhaps?), UFC officials announced Monday. No timetable has been provided for “T-City’s” return.
This is the second time Ortega vs. Moicano 2 has been canceled. UFC first attempted to run it back by booking the rematch for UFC 326 earlier this year, but Ortega withdrew because of lingering injuries.
The two first met at UFC 214 in 2017, producing a thrilling fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors. All three judges had the fight tied through two rounds before Ortega secured a third-round guillotine choke, handing Moicano the first loss of his professional career.
Nine years later, their rivalry remains unsettled.
Moicano will not remain on the UFC 331 lineup. Instead, “Money” has been moved into a five-round main event against No. 11-ranked Lightweight Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 123 on Halloween (Sat., Oct. 31, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Moicano (21-7-1) snapped a two-fight losing streak in his most recent outing, submitting Scottish slugger Chris Duncan in the main event of UFC Vegas 115 (watch highlights). Before that victory, “Money” dropped a unanimous decision to Beneil Dariush after suffering a short-notice Lightweight title loss to Islam Makhachev.
Nolan (11-1), meanwhile, is riding a five-fight winning streak since suffering a brutal knockout loss in his UFC debut. The 26-year-old Australian is coming off the biggest victory of his career, defeating then-ranked contender Fares Ziam to announce himself as a legitimate player at 155 pounds.
Now, Nolan gets his first UFC main event and an opportunity to add the biggest name yet to his rapidly-improving resume.
Here’s how UFC Vegas 123 currently looks:
- Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan
- Yana Santos vs. Luana Santos
- Julian Erosa vs. JeongYeong Lee
- Andre Petroski vs. Azamat Bekoev
- Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Farman Hasanov
- Francis Marshall vs. Gaston Bolanos
- Nick Klein vs. Joe Kropschot
- Rodrigo Sezinando vs. Theodor Berggren
- Tainara Lisboa vs. Lucia Szabova
The removal of Ortega vs. Moicano leaves UFC 331 with 12 fights, while the Heavyweight matchup between Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf has been promoted to the main card.
As for Ortega vs. Moicano 2, perhaps the third booking will finally be the charm.
Then again, maybe this rematch is simply cursed.