Kris Moutinho Secures Second Fight with UFC in October Following Loss to Sean O’Malley

The UFC has stepped up and provided Kris Moutinho with a second fight in the organization following his short-notice debut. The 9-5 fighter stepped up to face Sean O’Malley at UFC 264 in a bout he was heavily favored to lose. In fact, many believed it was a showcase fight for ‘Suga’ Sean and that is more or less how it played out.

However, the promotion rewarded Moutinho for stepping up to the plate and he now has a chance to redeem himself. He is slated to face Aaron Phillips on October 23, however, details surrounding the card are scarce at best. The venue and location are undecided for the fight card headlined by Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

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A look back at Sean O’Malley vs Kris Moutinho

Sean O’Malley’s beat down of Moutinho was largely what the MMA world expected once the fight was announced. Several opponents were considered including UFC veterans like Ricky Simon who immediately threw their hat in the cage. However, the UFC decided to sign Moutinho who was 2-2 in his last four albeit on a two-fight win streak.

‘Suga’ Sean displayed some crisp boxing early on and began piling on the strikes in short order. He kept providing various looks on the feet that constantly snapped back Moutinho’s head as the damage incrementally increased. Very early on it was evident that Kris Moutinho was out-gunned and that he wasn’t able to keep up with O’Malley.

His striking defense was absent for the most part, and it seemed as though resorting to wrestling wasn’t on the cards. This left Moutinho rather compromised as he absorbed a record number of strikes across the three-round contest. Chiefly, referee Herb Dean had plenty of opportunities to stop the fight, however, Moutinho’s toughness kept him in the game.

In the end, the referee stepped in and awarded O’Malley with the TKO that he was desperately looking for. He ended up stopped the fight at 4:33 of the final round and faced criticism for not letting Moutinho go out on his shield.

Fans are now excited to see him back in action and are hoping to see him avenge his debut UFC loss.

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