UFC 331 Adds Several Huge Fights Featuring Gable Steveson & Return of Viral KO Artist

The UFC has officially unveiled a new batch of fights that will take place when the promotion returns to Los Angeles, CA for UFC 331.

Scheduled to take place on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena, UFC 331 doesn’t currently feature a main event or co-main event but reports this week indicate the UFC is looking to book a lightweight rematch between Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira for the card.

News of several other bouts has also come up in recent weeks, and today the UFC officially dropped a four-fight slate of new matchups for UFC 331.

Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega 2 Set for UFC 331

The highest-profile of the four fights in terms of divisional significance, UFC 331 will feature a rematch between Brian Ortega and Renato Moicano that’s nearly 10 years in the making.

Brian Ortega (red gloves) fights Diego Lopes (blue bloves) during Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 at The Sphere. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The pair first met in 2017 at UFC 214, where Ortega handed Moicano the first loss of both his UFC and professional MMA careers when he caught the Brazilian in a guillotine choke late in the third round of their featherweight bout.

Renato Moicano moves in with a hit against Brian Ortega during UFC 214 at Honda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Moicano eventually went on to move up to lightweight, where he challenged Islam Makhachev for the division’s belt on short notice at UFC 311 and currently holds a #7 ranking.

Beneil Dariush (red gloves) fights Renato Moicano (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ortega unsuccessfully challenged for the UFC featherweight belt on three occasions, and after struggling to make featherweight his last time out against Aljamain Sterling the 35-year-old has elected to also move up to lightweight for a rematch that was originally scheduled for UFC 326.

Gable Steveson Booked for Second UFC Fight vs. Sean Sharaf

UFC 331 will also feature the second UFC appearance from Gable Steveson, who successfully debuted last month with a first-round finish of Elisha Ellison.

Gable Steveson (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Elisha Ellison (blue gloves) in a heavyweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Steveson is two-time NCAA Division 1 national champion in folkstyle wrestling and also won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He now has a 4-0 record in professional MMA after making his debut in September of 2025.

Sean Sharaf during his fight with Steven Asplund. | (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The 26-year-old will try to extend an unbeaten start to his MMA career at UFC 331 when he meets Sean Sharaf, who is 0-2 in the UFC so far but took home a “Fight of the Night” bonus in a losing effort against Steven Asplund in December.

Robelis Despaigne Returns to the UFC to Face Tai Tuivasa

The UFC also announced one other heavyweight bout for UFC 331, which will see Robelis Despaigne return to the promotion for the first time since 2024 to take on fan favorite Tai Tuivasa.

Despaigne debuted with the UFC at UFC 299 to considerable fanfare and knocked Josh Parisian out in just 18 seconds, but follow-up losses to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane brought an early end to his time with the promotion.

Robelis Despaigne reacts after defeating Josh Parisian, not shown, during UFC 299 at Kaseya Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The former Olympian went on to find significant success in Karate Combat before he returned to MMA in May as part of the MVP MMA 1 card and knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos in just under three minutes.

Robelis Despaigne (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Junior dos Santos (blue gloves) in a heavyweight bout at Intuit Dome. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“The Big Boy” will be tasked with trying to hand Tuivasa what would be his eighth loss in a row dating back to 2022, and Tuivasa will almost certainly need to get his hand raised in that fight in order to keep his place on the UFC roster.

Tai Tuivasa (red gloves) after the fight against Sergei Pavlovich (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Amway Center. | USA TODAY Sports

The UFC also confirmed a middleweight bout between Ryan Gandra and Ozzy Diaz for UFC 331, which is currently shaping up like this (per Tapology).

UFC 331 Fight Card

Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega 2

Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera

Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf

Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz

Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne

Casey O’Neill vs. Eduarda Moura

Patricio Pitbull vs. Doo Ho Choi

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira

Add us as a preferred source on Google