Randy Brown will face undefeated welterweight Jacobe Smith in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night on October 31 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, after Carlos Leal withdrew from their scheduled fight with an injury. Marcel Dorff first reported the replacement, and the UFC had not officially confirmed it at the time.
Smith is 13-0 and stopped Bruce Whitehead in the first round at UFC 332 on Oct. 3, so he would take the fight on less than two weeks’ notice and about four weeks after his last one. Brown is 20-8 and has lost his last two, to Gabriel Bonfim and Kevin Holland. Leal’s injury has not been disclosed.
The card has other changes. Azamat Bekoev is out of his middleweight fight with Andre Petroski for medical reasons, with Mantas Kondratavicius reportedly stepping in against Petroski. Francis Marshall’s fight with Gaston Bolanos is off, and Marshall is now listed against Dakota Hope.
Moicano vs. Nolan still headlines
Renato Moicano was set to face Brian Ortega in a rematch at UFC 331 until Ortega pulled out and the UFC moved Moicano to this card. He now meets Tom Nolan in a five-round lightweight main event, and the two fighters have since traded shots over the pullout.
Nolan is 11-1 on a five-fight win streak, and this is his first UFC main event. The UFC ranked him No. 11 at lightweight when it announced the fight. He called out Moicano after beating Fares Ziam by decision in June, saying, “I think he’s awesome.” Moicano, 37, is 21-7-1 and submitted Chris Duncan in the second round in April, his first win after two straight losses. It is his fourth UFC main event.
The card streams on Paramount+. Our MMA events this week roundup has the rest of the weekend schedule.
