Sean O’Malley now facing UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho at UFC 264

After Louis Smolka pulled out of his bantamweight main card bout with Sean O’Malley at UFC 264, the UFC was looking at several options to fill in as replacements.

No. 10 ranked bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili volunteered his services along with no. 10 ranked flyweight contender Tim Elliot, but it appeared the UFC was inching close to naming Ricky Simon as Smolka’s replacement for the card.

But evidently, Simon could not make weight in time for the fight.

O’Malley will now be facing Kris Moutinho. The popular bantamweight announced his short notice opponent during a Twitch stream.

Moutinho (9-4) has fought the majority of his professional career t in the northeastern promotion CES MMA. 

He most recently fought in CFFC, or Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he defeated Andrew Sales with a third round submission by way of triangle choke.

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Moutinho has split his last four fights despite winning his last two, and aside from his recent victories, this fight against O’Malley is going to be a dramatic increase in terms of competition.

UFC 264 is set to take place July 10 at T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, it is headlined by a trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.