The search for a new opponent for Sean O’Malley is officially over. He will still compete at UFC 264 next Saturday and now welcomes a promotional newcomer in Kris Moutinho.
O’Malley was initially scheduled to meet Louis Smolka on the main card of the pay-per-view event, but it was reported by Ariel Helwani that Smolka was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an undisclosed injury. Additional reporting from Marc Raimondi of ESPN revealed that Smolka had been dealing with a staph infection.
Upon hearing the news that O’Malley was in need of a new opponent, a number of bantamweight contenders such as Merab Dvalishvili and Ricky Simon took to social media to call for the short-notice fight.