‘Sugar’ Gets Sour Note Ahead Of UFC 264

Lonely Sean O’Malley needs a new dance partner for the upcoming UFC 264 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for July 10 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, after original opponent Louis Smolka was bounced from the summer lineup due to injury.

That’s according to Ariel Helwani.

O’Malley (13-1) blasted his way back into the win column with a third-round knockout victory over former bantamweight contender Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 back in March. The 26 year-old “Sugar” has 10 finishes in 13 wins and is now 5-1 inside the Octagon.

A search for a potential replacement opponent is underway.

No doubt this is a disappointing setback for Smolka, 29, who improved to 17-7 with a technical knockout finish over Jose Alberto Quinonez at UFC Vegas 16 last December. “Da Last Samurai” currently sits at 3-2 since rejoining the promotion back in late 2018.

UFC 264 will be headlined by the third (and hopefully final) fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Elsewhere on the card, Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson collide at 170 pounds, while heavyweight hurter Greg Hardy keeps busy against Tai Tuivasa.

For the updated UFC 264 fight card and lineup click here.