While the main and co-main event fights have yet to be revealed for UFC 331, Southern California fight fans look to be assured a tasty rematch of a rivalry born here nine years ago.
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South Bay lightweight Brian Ortega will square off again versus Renato Moicano on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in one of four bouts announced early Wednesday morning by the UFC.
The duo were supposed to clash again at UFC 326 in March, now 10 pounds higher than their first fight, before Ortega had to withdraw because of injuries.
Ortega (16-5, 1 NC) and Moicano (21-7-1) first tangled at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, at Honda Center, with “T-City” earning the victory via a third-round guillotine choke against the Brazilian featherweight.
Since then, both have fought for UFC gold, with Ortega coming up short against featherweight champions Max Holloway in 2018 and Alexander Volkanovski in 2021. Moicano, on one day’s notice, lost to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the first round at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, 2025, at Honda Center.
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Tickets for UFC 331, which will be the first time the premier MMA organization has hosted a card in downtown Los Angeles since UFC 227 on Aug. 4, 2018, went on sale Friday at AXS.com.
Ortega won’t be the only fighter with SoCal roots on the card.
Anaheim native Sean Sharaf (4-2) has a tough task ahead when he takes on renowned wrestler Gable Steveson (4-0). Sharaf has come up short in his two UFC heavyweight fights, while Steveson made his highly anticipated debut at UFC 329 last month with a first-round TKO victory.
Los Angeles native Ozzy Diaz (10-4) will step into the Octagon for the fourth time when he takes on Brazilian middleweight Ryan Gandra (10-1).
The fourth fight will feature popular Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa (15-10) against newly re-signed Brazilian Robelis Despaigne, who in May knocked out former UFC champion Junior dos Santos in the first round on the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano card at Intuit Dome.
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