Brian Ortega’s long-talked-about move to 155 pounds is here.
Ortega, a former two-time UFC featherweight title challenger, is moving up to the lightweight division to take on veteran Renato Moicano in a rematch on Sept. 19 at UFC 331 in Los Angeles. UFC officials announced the rematch on Wednesday.
This bout was originally expected to go down in March at UFC 326, but Ortega withdrew from the matchup due to injury. Ortega and Moicano fought back in 2017. Ortega submitted Moicano in a bout that won Fight of the Night awards.
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Ortega’s move to lightweight has been talked about for several years, as he’d had trouble making 145 pounds for quite some time. In his last outing back in August, Ortega was unable to make the featherweight cut, thus pushing his bout with Aljamain Sterling to an 153-pound catchweight bout. Ortega lost the fight by unanimous decision. “T-City” is finds himself on a two-fight losing streak and 1-4 in his past five bouts.
Moicano looks to build some momentum in his career after submitting American Top Team teammate Chris Duncan in April at UFC Fight Night 272. The win got him back on his feet after a pair of defeats to Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev, who he fought for the UFC lightweight title at the time.
The latest UFC 331 lineup now includes:
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Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega
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Sean Sharaf vs. Gable Steveson
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Robelis Despaigne vs. Tai Tuivasa
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Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera
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Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz
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Dooho Choi vs. Patricio Freire
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Eduarda Moura vs. Casey O’Neill
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Brunno Ferreira vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega 2 added to UFC 331
