UFC 326 has had a few setbacks lately.
Paulo Costa faced some criticism from fans after withdrawing from his scheduled bout just days after it was announced.
And Costa wasn’t the only notable name to drop out of UFC 326 in Las Vegas. There’s now another big change on the card.
After word got around that a high-profile rematch might be off, one of the fighters took to social media to confirm the news.
Brian Ortega details reasons behind his absence from UFC 326
Brian Ortega was gearing up to make a move that fans had been anticipating for some time at UFC 326.
Having spent his entire career at featherweight, the two-time title challenger nearly claimed the belt in 2021 when he had Alexander Volkanovski in serious trouble.
After a stretch of inconsistent results and lengthy absences from competition, many began to question whether moving up to lightweight could provide the fresh start he needed.
Ortega’s health scare before his loss to Aljamain Sterling only added weight to those concerns, seemingly pushing him towards a change.
The Brazilian fighter, who lost twice in title fights at featherweight, was set to take on Moicano on March 7th in Las Vegas. It would have been their second meeting after Ortega submitted him back in 2017.
When reports began circulating that he’d pulled out of the rematch, Ortega later addressed them directly through a video posted to his Instagram story.
“I’m OK, health is good, no surgeries or nothing crazy like that,” Ortega said. “But I do need to take a little bit of some time off to nurse these injuries that I have right now.”
Renato Moicano’s reported replacement fight for UFC 326 was shut down
After Brian Ortega pulled out of UFC 326, Leo Walker Guimaraes reported that Renato Moicano was being lined up to face Tom Nolan as a replacement bout.
However, that claim was disputed by Nolan’s manager, Daniel Rubenstein, who took to social media to clarify the situation.
“That’s not what the organization told me the plans were for Tom Nolan a mere day ago,” Rubenstein wrote on X. “Leo, I’m easy to find if you ever need to confirm something with one of my guys since clearly you only spoke to the Brazilian side of this equation instead of posting ‘exclusive’ fake info.”
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