Brian Ortega’s career comeback with a move to lightweight seems to have hit another roadblock. Just days before his scheduled showdown with old rival Renato Moicano on the main card of UFC 331 on September 19, the former featherweight title challenger has been forced out of his long-awaited rematch.

Ortega’s withdrawal is the result of a nasty cut above his right eye that he suffered during training. The UFC has since confirmed the injury and scrapped the matchup. While the promotion has found Moicano a new opponent in Tom Nolan, their fight has been moved to UFC Fight Night 292 on October 31.

However, for Brian Ortega (16-5), the cancellation marks a major disappointment. The 35-year-old was on weight and believed he was having one of the best camps of his career. Addressing the setback, ‘T-City’ issued a statement on Instagram.

“This one hurts,” Ortega wrote. “I have to pull out of the fight because of the stitches in my eye. I’m on weight, I’ve been training my a– off, and this has honestly been one of the best camps I’ve ever had. I was really looking forward to fighting at home in Los Angeles in front of my family, friends, and everyone who’s been supporting me.”

The accompanying images showed the deep cut above Ortega’s right eye, while a video showed him receiving stitches for the injury.

Rumors about Ortega’s injury began circulating Monday after Christian rapper Lecrae shared a video on social media showing a despondent Ortega at a restaurant with a patch above his eye. The UFC officially confirmed the injury a few hours later, putting an end to speculation.

Brian Ortega, however, does not appear to be planning an extended layoff.

“My next fight is in soon, so I’m getting right back to training,” Ortega added in his statement. “We’ve brought some new people into camp, and I’m excited to show you guys a new side of me.

“Thank you to everyone who’s been supporting me through all of this. I’ll see you guys in November.”

The promise of a November return is particularly important for Brian Ortega, considering this is already the second time this year that his scheduled rematch with Renato Moicano (21-7) has fallen apart.

Their lightweight bout was previously booked for UFC 326 on March 7 but was cancelled after Ortega revealed that nagging injuries had forced him out. The latest setback is also part of a much longer pattern of cancellations that have disrupted his UFC career.

In one of the most chaotic situations in recent UFC history, Ortega withdrew from his UFC 303 main card bout against Diego Lopes on the day of the event in June 2024. A grueling weight cut caused his body to shut down, prompting Dan Ige to step in on just a few hours’ notice. The Lopes fight was later rebooked for UFC 306 in September, where Ortega lost via unanimous decision.

Brian Ortega was also forced to withdraw from his December 2019 main event against Chan Sung Jung several weeks before fight night after suffering a major knee injury, including a torn ACL. The fight was eventually rescheduled for October 2020, when Ortega defeated Jung by unanimous decision.

Those setbacks, coupled with the recent ones, have made Ortega’s place in the UFC pretty precarious.

After joining the promotion in 2014, the San Pedro, Los Angeles native had quickly established himself as one of the promotion’s top featherweights, winning six straight fights, including a submission victory over Renato Moicano on July 29, 2017.

But his momentum slowed considerably after Max Holloway stopped his first attempt at the featherweight title in 2018.

Brian Ortega returned two years later with a win over Chan Sung Jung and even earned another title shot against Alexander Volkanovski in 2021. However, he lost the bout via unanimous decision. He has since struggled to maintain the same level of success.

Over the last six years, Ortega has recorded only two wins against four losses, did not compete at all in 2023, and has not had a win since February 2024.

His most recent appearance came on August 23, 2025, when he faced Aljamain Sterling at UFC Shanghai. The fight took place at a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega failed to make the featherweight limit. After the bout, the Mexican-American subsequently announced his move up to lightweight, seemingly hoping the change would provide a much-needed boost to his career.

A rematch with Moicano appeared to offer the perfect opportunity to begin that new chapter. Alas, it never happened despite being booked twice now.

Brian Ortega and Renato Moicano head down different paths

Moicano’s situation was no different from Ortega’s. Coming off a three-fight losing streak, which included a defeat to Islam Makhachev, the Brazilian also looked forward to a major career reset with the Ortega rematch.

Unlike Ortega, however, Moicano did not have to wait long for another fight after their first matchup fell apart. The UFC booked him against Chris Duncan on an April Fight Night, and he made the most of the opportunity by submitting Duncan with a second-round rear-naked choke.

Now, with the Ortega rematch cancelled for a second time, Moicano has once again been booked for a Fight Night. He will face Tom Nolan on October 31, while Ortega has indicated that he hopes to return in November. Details about Ortega’s next opponent and where he will compete, however, remain unclear.

The latest cancellation also means Ortega’s planned move to lightweight has yet to officially take place.

The Ortega-Moicano cancellation is also the latest change to the UFC 331 card. The No. 2-ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan was previously rumored to face BMF champion Charles Oliveira, but that potential matchup ultimately fell through.

Tsarukyan will instead face another Brazilian in Mauricio Ruffy after Oliveira reportedly withdrew following the tragic passing of his close friend and team member Allan Nascimento. The Tsarukyan-Ruffy matchup is now being viewed as an unofficial title eliminator.

The rest of the UFC 331 card currently remains intact for now:

Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja – Main event, UFC Flyweight Championship
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Arman Tsarukyan – Co-main event, Lightweight
Dooho Choi vs. Patricio Pitbull – Featherweight
Iwo Baraniewski vs. Alonzo Menifield – Light Heavyweight
Sean Sharaf vs. Gable Steveson – Heavyweight
Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera – Bantamweight
Robelis Despaigne vs. Tai Tuivasa – Heavyweight
Michael Aswell vs. JooSang Yoo – Featherweight
Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz – Middleweight
Brunno Ferreira vs. Edmen Shahbazyan – Middleweight
Eduarda Moura vs. Casey O’Neill – Women’s Flyweight
Joanderson Brito vs. Giga Chikadze – Featherweight

With several other important matchups still intact, UFC 331 retains plenty of intrigue. For Brian Ortega, though, the focus now shifts away from September 19 and toward getting healthy enough to finally begin his long-awaited lightweight chapter.