Brian Ortega withdraws from UFC 331 fight with Renato Moicano

Brian Ortega has withdrawn from his UFC 331 bout with Renato Moicano after suffering an eye injury that required stitches, he said. Moicano has since been moved to a later UFC Fight Night main event against Tom Nolan.

Brian Ortega has withdrawn from his scheduled UFC 331 main-card bout against Renato Moicano because of an eye injury requiring stitches, according to an explanation reported by MMA Junkie via Yahoo Sports.

"I have to pull out of the fight because of the stitches in my eye," Ortega said. He added that he was on weight and described the training camp as one of his best before the injury, which occurred during training.

Ortega said he expected to return to training soon and referred to a next fight in November. The initial announcement from UFC identified only an injury as the reason for his withdrawal.

The bout was scheduled to take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on 19 September 2026. Moicano was removed from the event and moved to a later UFC Fight Night main event against Tom Nolan.