Nathaniel Wood gets new UFC Paris opponent just days before event

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There has been a slight change to the UFC Fight Night 287 lineup.

Due to illness, Marion Santos has been ruled out of his featherweight bout against veteran Nathaniel Wood, which was supposed to take place on the preliminary portion of the card. Replacing the Brazilian will be undefeated newcomer Pavel Andrusca, the promotion announced Tuesday.

Wood's opponent, Andrusca, is 8-0 since making his professional MMA debut in 2021. Seven of his eight wins have come by finish. Andrusca last fought in July when he picked up knockout win at UAE Warriors 72.

Wood (23-6 MMA, 11-3 UFC) is looking to extend his current winning streak to five in a row. The Englishman is on quite the run, notching decision wins over notable talent such as Daniel Pineda, Morgan Charriere, Jose Delgado, and Losene Keita. Wood is also 7-1 in his past eight trips to the octagon. This will be Wood's second fight for 2026.

UFC Fight Night 287 (Paramount+) takes place Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris.

UFC Paris fight card

Main card (Paramount+, 3 p.m. ET)

  • Dan Hooker vs. Salahdine Parnasse
  • Axel Sola vs. Fares Ziam
  • Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
  • Losene Keita vs. Muhammad Naimov
  • Morgan Charriere vs. Felipe Lima
  • Daniil Donchenko vs. Puna Soriano

Preliminary card (Parmount+, noon ET)

  • Kurtis Campbell vs. Trevor Peek
  • Matthieu Duclos vs. Luis Felipe
  • Nora Cornolle vs. Klaudia Sygula
  • Mario Pinto vs. Ryan Spann
  • Pavel Andrusca vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Oumar Sy
  • Michael Aljarouj vs. Fabia Sintes
  • Delphine Benouaich vs. Sofia Montenegro

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Nathaniel Wood gets new UFC Paris opponent just days before event