Less than two weeks before his scheduled UFC 264 bout, rising bantamweight star Sean O’Malley lost planned opponent Louis Smolka to a staph infection. In Smolka’s place on Saturday night is debutante Kris Moutinho. A man looking to cash in big on his Ultimate Fighting Championship lottery ticket.
Once O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was left without a dance partner for July 10, an array of UFC bantamweights quickly took to social media to voice their eagerness at facing the Dan White’s Contender Series standout, including Cody Stamann (19-4-1 MMA) and Brian Kelleher (22-12 MMA).
Kris Moutinho goes from New England regional star to Octagon newcomer
Ultimately, it was Moutinho (9-4 MMA) who got the call. The 28-year-old is a familiar face to those in New England, having competed for regional promotions CES MMA and Cage Fury FC since his professional debut in 2016.
An entertaining finisher with brightly dyed hair, Moutinho was a name many hardcore fans considered on the cusp of earning a UFC contract, following back-to-back finishes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is my lottery ticket,” Moutinho to “>MyMMANews in a recent interview. “I like chances to go out there and show what I’m about and who I am as a person. This is something I’ve done for the last 15 years of my life.”
Given O’Malley’s prominence and past performances, however, some believed he should have fought a more experienced fighter on short notice. Detractors give Moutinho little chance to pull off what would be a sizable upset against “Sugar.”
“Telling me I have no chance is insane, man,” Moutinho said. “We all fight. I’ve been fighting some of the best guys — guys that are in the UFC, guys that are out of the UFC. I’ve fought everybody.
“It was a little crazy when that happened. My manager was like, ‘Yo, do you want to just throw your name [in the hat to be O’Malley’s opponent]? It’s probably a longshot; it might not happen.’ I started getting DMs from random people before I even got the confirmation, DMs saying, ‘I’m going to get knocked out,’ this and that,” Moutinho revealed.
Moutinho–who holds three of his nine wins by knockout–challenged for the CES MMA bantamweight title in 2019, and suffered a fourth-round knockout at the hands of eventual UFC veteran Tony Gravely (21-6). He has won five of his past seven fights.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Who are you?’ Nobody knows who I am. And I’m like, ‘A few years ago, nobody knew who Sean O’Malley was!’” Moutinho added. “Whether it’s to win or to lose, it doesn’t matter. I got my shot, and I get to go prove who I am.”
–Field Level Media
