Moicano blasts Ortega as 'chickened out' after second UFC 331 withdrawal

Renato Moicano has unleashed a furious public attack on Brian Ortega after their scheduled UFC 331 lightweight bout collapsed on 14 September — five days before the 19 September card at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles — when Ortega suffered a cut above his eye in training that required stitches.

Moicano (21-7), who had been set to welcome Ortega (16-5) to the lightweight division, made his feelings clear on his YouTube channel, accusing the former featherweight title challenger of repeatedly letting opponents down.

“Ortega chickened out,” Moicano said. “Something I never expected whatsoever. Quite simply, the easiest fight in the division just slipped right through my fingers. And I was pissed, I was angry, but there’s nothing I can do about it. If you’re watching this video, it’s because I’m not going to fight at UFC 331, unfortunately, because of this son of a b*tch, because of this guy who’s always pulling out.”

The frustration runs deeper than a single cancellation. Ortega had already withdrawn from a scheduled matchup with Moicano in March 2025, making this the second consecutive time the fight has fallen apart. Moicano also pointed to Ortega missing weight ahead of his last outing against Aljamain Sterling, and claimed that Ortega publicly attributed that failure to personal difficulties with fellow UFC fighter Tracy Cortez.

“Nobody is ever going to trust you again,” Moicano added. “Who’s going to want to fight Brian Ortega? He already missed weight against Sterling; he’s had all kinds of problems. I didn’t want to bring these personal things up here, but in interviews he said it was Tracy Cortez’s fault, that Tracy Cortez was making his life miserable. And now, over the last two years, over the last three years, what’s the problem? I’m asking, but I want you to go f*ck yourself. I don’t even want to know.”

Despite the setback, Moicano has a new assignment. He will headline a UFC Fight Night against surging prospect Tom Nolan (11-1) on 31 October at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, stepping into a main-event slot that keeps him active while Ortega’s immediate future in the lightweight division remains unclear.