Ortega Out of UFC 331 vs Moicano

Brian Ortega is out of UFC 331 after an eye cut that needed stitches, scrubbing his lightweight bout with Renato Moicano five days before fight night in Los Angeles. The UFC confirmed the removal Monday. Moicano will instead face No. 11 ranked Tom Nolan in the main event of a Fight Night card on Oct 31 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Ortega posted the injury details himself. He said he has to pull out because of the stitches in his eye, that he is on weight, and that the camp had been one of his best. He wanted the home date at Crypto.com Arena in front of family and friends. MMA Junkie reported a nasty gash over the right eye with significant swelling after the training cut. Early reports called it undisclosed until Ortega's statement lined up with the eye story.

What UFC 331 loses

UFC 331 still goes Saturday, Sep 19 in Los Angeles with Joshua Van defending the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja in the rematch headliner. With Moicano vs Ortega gone, the card is down to 12 fights, and Gable Steveson vs Sean Sharaf now opens the main card. That is a loud lightweight missing from a stacked LA room, not a full card collapse. Van vs Pantoja 2 still anchors the pay-per-view window, and the early prelims through main card times on Paramount+ stay the same for U.S. viewers.

This is also the second time this year Ortega has pulled out of a booking against Moicano after a March scrap fell through. Ortega moved to lightweight after missing weight ahead of an August 2025 fight with Aljamain Sterling, so the 155-pound debut keeps getting delayed. Fans who marked the LA date for T-City get the short end of that timeline again.

Moicano's new Halloween main event

Moicano steps into his fourth UFC main event against Nolan, who is on a five-fight win streak. The Oct 31 Vegas slot keeps Money on the calendar without a late replacement dance for Saturday. Ortega said he is getting right back to training and expects to be seen in November, though no opponent or date is locked yet.

MMA fans hate late scratches, especially when the fighter was already in town energy. Ortega owns the explanation: eye stitches, not a mystery. Moicano gets Nolan on Halloween. UFC 331 keeps Van vs Pantoja 2 as the headline. Watch November for Ortega's next stamp, and watch Oct 31 for whether Moicano turns the replacement main into another finish.