Ultimate Fighting Championship

Louis Smolka draws TUF 24's Brandon Moreno as late-notice opponent

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:12 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

The latest season of "The Ultimate Fighter" has already produced a UFC flyweight.

Fresh off of filming the reality show, Brandon Moreno has stepped up to replace an injured Sergio Pettis for next weekend's card in Portland, Ore.

Moreno will now face Louis Smolka on the upcoming card headlined by bantamweight bangers John Lineker and John Dodson.

UFC officials confirmed the matchup with FOX Sports on Friday.

Moreno made quite an impression on "The Ultimate Fighter" this past season after entering the flyweight tournament as the No. 16 seed before going to battle with top-ranked prospect Alexandre Pantoja.

Moreno ultimately fell to Pantoja in the end, but the scrappy young fighter impressed everybody with his performance and now he'll get his chance to fight in the UFC. When he's not on the show, Moreno is actually a teammate with former flyweight title contender Henry Cejudo.

Pettis was forced off the fight due to a "minor injury" according to his coach Duke Roufus but Smolka will remain on the card with his new opponent.

UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson goes down next Saturday night Oct 1 from Portland with the main card airing live on FS1.

Get more from Ultimate Fighting Championship Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Ultimate Fighting Championship