Kris Moutinho’s next fight is set.
As per multiple reports, Moutinho will take on Aaron Phillips in a bantamweight bout set for the UFC’s upcoming October 23 event. No location or venue has been announced as of yet.
It will be Moutinho’s second fight with the UFC. His first fight, of course, was a short-notice debut against Sean O’Malley at UFC 264 last month.
Despite being a largely unknown fighter prior to the contest, Moutinho earned plenty of fans with his performance as he ate a number of big shots from O’Malley and continued to march forward.
In the end, he suffered a third-round TKO defeat, though many felt the stoppage was early. Moutinho even went on record stating he felt he would have won if it were a five-round fight.
“I feel like he was getting a little scared towards the end,” Moutinho said. “He was a little scared towards the end. If that was a five-round fight, he would have been a little more. I think I was pushing him, I think he was tired. I think I was going at a pace that eventually, he would have worn down of.”
What couldn’t be denied was that Moutinho was a game opponent who likely didn’t compete in his last UFC fight. That is clearly the case given this latest bit of fight news.
As for his opponent in Phillips, he is also coming off a defeat after getting submitted by Jack Shore in July last year. It was his first fight in his second stint in the UFC.
The main event of the October 23 event will see a middleweight headliner between former title challengers Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.
Here’s how the card currently looks:
- 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
- Kris Moutinho vs. Aaron Phillips
