Brian Ortega and Diego Lopez will team up again.
Less than a month after their UFC 303 bout fell through on fight day, the promotion announced a new date and location for the fight. Barring further unforeseen circumstances, Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Lopez (25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will meet at Noche UFC (UFC 306) on September 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking on social media on Friday.
Initial attempts to make the bout happen fell through when Ortega fell ill just hours before the fight, and he was struggling to make it to featherweight before the bout, so the bout was moved to lightweight instead.
In an unprecedented move, Las Vegas resident Dan Ige took his place against Lopez after a special weigh-in, and Lopez defeated Ige by unanimous decision.
The win marked four straight for Lopez, who also has UFC wins over Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabbatini and Sodiq Yusuf.
Ortega will be looking to extend his winning streak following his lone win over Yair Rodriguez, and prior to the cancellation of the Lopez fight, he told MMA Junkie he was preparing to move down to lightweight.
With this addition, Noche UFC’s lineup now includes:
- Champion Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – Bantamweight Title Bout
- Champion Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko – Women's Flyweight Title Bout
- Diego Lopez vs. Brian Ortega
- Esteban Rybovic vs. Daniel Zellhuber
- Ordo Osborne vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez
- Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
- Ignacio Bajamondez vs. Manuel Torres
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
- Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chailes
- Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Chih-Len
For more details on the card, check out MMA Junkie's Noche UFC events hub.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and other content with fellow mixed martial arts fans.
