Kris Moutinho will have to wait a little bit longer to make his second walk to the UFC cage.
A fan-favorite bantamweight just one fight into his promotional tenure, Moutinho (9-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has withdrawn from his scheduled Oct. 23 bout vs. Aaron Phillips due to injury. Stepping into his place will be Factory X fighter Jonathan Martinez.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup Friday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Martinez (13-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) looks to bounce back from a knockout loss to Davey Grant in March. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak for the 27-year-old fighter and marked the first time in his pro career he was finished.
Phillips (12-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) re-signed with the UFC in 2020 after nearly six years outside of the promotion. He took a short-notice fight against Jack Shore, which he lost by second-round submission. The defeat snapped a five-fight winning streak for the Louisianan.
With the change, the Oct. 23 lineup includes:
- Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori
- Randa Markos vs. Livinha Souza
- Daniel Lacerda vs. Jeff Molina
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Jun Yong Park vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Mason Jones vs. Alan Patrick
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Aaron Phillips
- Nick Negumereanu vs. Ike Villanueva
- Alex Caceres vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Dwight Grant vs. Gabe Green
- Maria Oliveira vs. Tabatha Ricci
