When Louis Smolka withdrew from UFC 264 on Tuesday, Sean O’Malley had no shortage of fighters raising their hands on social media.
None of them got the call.
Less than two weeks out from the July 10 event, the UFC instead has settled on a promotional newcomer to step up to the plate. Massachusetts’ Kris Moutinho will now face O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a bantamweight fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Wednesday after O’Malley mentioned the fight during a livestream on Twitch.
Fighting out of Regiment Training Center, Moutinho (9-4) has competed for various top regional organizations such as CES and CFFC. In nine professional wins, Moutinho has tabulated four finishes. Moutinho, 28, rides a two-fight winning streak into the fight.
In his most recent outing, O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) rebounded from an August 2020 TKO loss to Marlon Vera. Against former bantamweight contender Thomas Almeida, O’Malley added another highlight reel knockout to his resume.
The updated UFC 264 lineup includes:
- Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
- Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
- Greg Hardy vs. Tai Tuivasa
- Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya
- Kris Moutinho vs. Sean O’Malley
- Carlos Condit vs. Max Griffin
- Michel Pereira vs. Niko Price
- Jessica Eye vs. Jennifer Maia
- Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria
- Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares
- Jerome Rivera vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Trevin Giles
- Alen Amedovski vs. Hu Yaozong
Sean O’Malley sweepstakes over: Newcomer Kris Moutinho gets UFC 264 call