Unfortunately, it’s not happening anymore.
Ortega has withdrawn from the Lightweight matchup because of an undisclosed injury, UFC officials announced Monday. No timetable has been provided for “T-City’s” return.
The two first met at UFC 214 in 2017, producing a thrilling fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors. All three judges had the fight tied through two rounds before Ortega secured a third-round guillotine choke, handing Moicano the first loss of his professional career.
Nine years later, their rivalry remains unsettled.
Moicano will not remain on the UFC 331 lineup. Instead, “Money” has been moved into a five-round main event against No. 11-ranked Lightweight Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 123 on Halloween (Sat., Oct. 31, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Moicano (21-7-1) snapped a two-fight losing streak in his most recent outing, submitting Scottish slugger Chris Duncan in the main event of UFC Vegas 115 (watch highlights). Before that victory, “Money” dropped a unanimous decision to Beneil Dariush after suffering a short-notice Lightweight title loss to Islam Makhachev.
Nolan (11-1), meanwhile, is riding a five-fight winning streak since suffering a brutal knockout loss in his UFC debut. The 26-year-old Australian is coming off the biggest victory of his career, defeating then-ranked contender Fares Ziam to announce himself as a legitimate player at 155 pounds.
Now, Nolan gets his first UFC main event and an opportunity to add the biggest name yet to his rapidly improving resume.
Here is how UFC Vegas 123 currently looks:
Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan
Yana Santos vs. Luana Santos
Julian Erosa vs. JeongYeong Lee
Andre Petroski vs. Azamat Bekoev
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Farman Hasanov
Francis Marshall vs. Gaston Bolanos
Nick Klein vs. Joe Kropschot
Rodrigo Sezinando vs. Theodor Berggren
Tainara Lisboa vs. Lucia Szabova
The removal of Ortega vs. Moicano leaves UFC 331 with 12 fights, while the Heavyweight matchup between Gable Steveson and Sean Sharaf has been promoted to the main card.
As for Ortega vs. Moicano 2, perhaps the third booking will finally be the charm.
Then again, maybe this rematch is simply cursed.
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.