Kris
Moutinho is the apparent winner of the Sean
O’Malley sweepstakes.
Multiple outlets confirmed that Moutinho will face O’Malley at
UFC 264 after “Sugar” announced the pairing on Twitch. O’Malley’s
original opponent, Louis Smolka, withdraw from the bout due to a
staph infection. UFC 264 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas on July 10 and is headlined by a trilogy bout between
Dustin
Poirier and Conor
McGregor.
Moutinho has competed almost exclusively for CES MMA while
compiling a 9-4 record since beginning his professional tenure in
2016. The 28-year-old Rivera Athletic Center representative
challenged for promotional gold at CES MMA 54 in January 2019,
falling to current UFC talent Tony
Gravely via fourth-round knockout. Most recently, Moutinho
submitted Andrew
Salas in the third round of their clash at Cage Fury Fighting
Championships 96 on May 28.
O’Malley, meanwhile, rebounded from his first career defeat in
impressive fashion, as he knocked out Thomas
Almeida in the third round at UFC 260 on March 27. Prior to
that, the MMA Lab product fell to Marlon Vera
via first-round TKO at UFC 252. The Dana White’s Contender Series
alum is 5-1 in the UFC and 13-1 as a professional overall.