Renato Moicano says nobody will ever trust Brian Ortega again after Ortega pulled out of their UFC 331 fight, and Ortega has fired back at everyone accusing him of ducking.
Ortega withdrew from the lightweight bout five days before Saturday’s card at Crypto.com Arena after suffering a cut over his eye in training that required stitches. It’s the second time he has pulled out of a scheduled fight with Moicano, following a cancelled matchup in March.
Moicano didn’t hold back on his YouTube channel, in comments translated by MMA Fighting. “Ortega chickened out,” he said. “Something I never expected whatsoever. Quite simply, the easiest fight in the division just slipped right through my fingers.”
Moicano Says Nobody Will Fight Ortega Now
Moicano pointed to Ortega missing weight against Aljamain Sterling and questioned who would agree to face him going forward. “Nobody is ever going to trust you again,” Moicano said. “Who’s going to want to fight Brian Ortega?”
He also vented about what the cancellation cost him, from days of dieting to missed livestreams. And he laughed about the purse he’d been counting on, while noting the figure was only what had been reported. “It was the easiest half a million dollars I was ever going to put in my pocket,” Moicano said.
Ortega Calls Critics "Stupid People"
Ortega explained the injury in an Instagram video and said it didn’t happen in sparring. “I wasn’t sparring. I was doing jiu-jitsu, going over the last details, the last game plans, getting just the last sweat in, and then this f*cking headbutt happened,” Ortega said.
Then he turned on the doubters. “For all of you who are saying that I pulled out because I’m scared, I’m ducking, whatever, you guys are stupid people among stupid people,” Ortega said. “Straight up. I’m not even going to sugarcoat that sh*t.”
In his written statement, Ortega said he was on weight and coming off “one of the best camps I’ve ever had,” and that he’s heading straight back into training for his next fight.
Moicano has already moved on. He now headlines a UFC Fight Night against Tom Nolan on October 31 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, while Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf takes the open spot on the UFC 331 main card.
