He opened up! Brian Ortega speaks for the first time after leaving the fight against Renato Moicano again in the UFC.

Ortega promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

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UFC 331 suffered a setback on Monday night (14). The organization itself announced that Brian Ortega was injured and, therefore, withdrew again from the fight against Renato Moicano , which was scheduled to take place this Saturday (19), in California (USA). Shortly afterwards, the American spoke about his latest fight cancellation.

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On his official Instagram account, Ortega lamented not being able to compete at UFC 331 , as he had taken the rematch against the Brazilian seriously. The injury that forced 'T-City' out of the event was a deep cut above his left eyebrow suffered during training. It's worth noting that the veterans were scheduled for a rematch in March, but the American was also injured at that time and withdrew from the fight.

Even though he was disappointed, Ortega assured that, despite the bad phase in his career, he is motivated to turn things around and even indicated when he intends to return to action. In any case, the athlete will not have Moicano as an opponent, as the latter is now preparing to face Tom Nolan in October.

“This one hurts. I had to withdraw from the fight because of the stitches in my eye. I’m at weight, I’ve been training hard, and honestly, this was one of the best camps I’ve ever done. I was really looking forward to fighting at home, in Los Angeles, in front of my family, friends, and everyone who’s supporting me,” the fighter wrote.

“My next fight is coming up soon, so I’m going back to training immediately. We brought in some new people to camp and I’m excited to show you a new side of me. I appreciate everyone who has supported me throughout this period. See you in November,” he concluded.

Ortega's current situation

Brian Ortega , 35, last fought in the UFC in August 2025 and is experiencing the worst moment of his career. The American has lost two fights in a row and has been defeated in four of his last five bouts. At his peak, he competed for the featherweight title (up to 65,8 kg) in 2018 and 2021.

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