Alternate Named For Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega At UFC 231

An alternate has been named for Max Holloway and Brian Ortega’s featherweight title match-up at UFC 231.

“Blessed” will defend his 145-pound strap against “T-City” in the pay-per-view’s (PPV) main event on December 8th in Toronto. However, there is a bit of concern behind this fight. Holloway has had issues making it to the cage as of late. He was originally set to challenge for the lightweight title at UFC 223 in April.

However, Holloway was not medically cleared by the commission to go through with the fight. Also, Holloway was removed from his initially scheduled fight with Ortega at UFC 226 due to concussion-like symptoms. Now, it seems like Holloway has figured his medical issues out, and will now be able to fight against Ortega in December.

Just in case things go wrong, however, the UFC has announced that rising featherweight prospect Renato Moicano has been named as the fight’s alternate. Moicano will step in should anything go wrong with either Holloway or Ortega. The Brazilian was initially set to compete on the card against Mirsad Bektic.

However, Bektic was forced to withdraw from the fight, leaving Moicano without an opponent. Now, Moicano has the opportunity to fight for a 145-pound title should something go wrong with the main event.