UFC acts quickly and chooses newcomer as Smolka's replacement against O'Malley at UFC 264, says website

S. O'Malley after UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

After being surprised by the departure of Louis Smolka protocols for UFC 264, an event that takes place on July 10th, the UFC acted quickly and already has a replacement to face Sean O'Malley. Out after suffering a staphylococcal infection, the North American will have his place taken by Kris moutinho, who makes his debut in the organization. The information was released by 'MMA Junkie'.

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At 28 years old, Moutinho debuts with the tough mission of ending O'Malley's 'promised status' in the UFC. Currently, the American has a record of nine wins and four losses in his career. In his last appearance, which took place in May this year, he submitted former Bellator Andrew Salas in the Cage Fury Fighting Championship 96.

On the other hand, O'Malley's trajectory in Ultimate has been meteoric. The athlete was discovered in the 'Contender Series', a program that searches for new rising talents to fight in the UFC and after knocking out six out of eight fights. Since his debut in December 2017, he has recorded five wins and just one defeat. At just 26 years old, the 'Sugar' has 13 triumphs and one setback in his career.

In addition to the fight between O'Malley and Moutinho, the UFC 264 also has the 'third chapter' of the rivalry between Conor McGregor e Dustin poirier. In the co-main fight of the night, the Brazilian Gilbert Durinho tries to recover from the defeat against Kamaru Usman for the welterweight belt (up to 77kg.) and faces Stephen Thompson.