Louis Smolka has had a busy day.
First, he drew the ire of the interwebs after posting a video online in which he said his scheduled UFC Fight Night 96 opponent, Sergio Pettis (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), had a “hurt vagina” as his reason for pulling out of their flyweight fight with what his trainer called a “minor injury.”
But now Smolka (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) no doubt will be hoping to put that behind him since he has a new opponent for the card: Brandon Moreno (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC). A UFC official confirmed the fight to MMAjunkie today following an initial report from FOXSports.com.
UFC Fight Night 96 takes place Oct. 1 at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. The main card airs on FS1 following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass.
Moreno currently is a cast member on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which features flyweight champions from other organizations around the world vying for a tournament win and a shot at UFC champ Demetrious Johnson. Moreno’s first appearance on the show, which was taped earlier this year, was a gritty performance, but a loss to Alexandre Pantoja.
Smolka has won four straight fights since a split-decision loss to Chris Cariaso, including bonus-winning knockouts of Richie Vaculik and Ben Nguyen, the latter of which came at UFC Fight Night 91 in July. Smolka currently is ranked No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings; Pettis is an honorable mention selection.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 96 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (FS1, 11 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS2, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7:15 p.m. ET)
For the latest on UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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