A featherweight battle of Brits is headed to UFC 286.
Lerone Murphy (11-0-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) will face Nathaniel Wood (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) on March 18 at The O2 in London. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Alfredo Zullino.
Unbeaten in the octagon, Murphy was last seen in action in October 2021 when he scored a come-from-behind knockout of Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 267. Murphy was scheduled to face Nate Landwehr at UFC on ESPN 33 in March, but withdrew from the bout.
Wood, a Brad Pickett protege, is 2-0 since moving up to featherweight. “The Prospect” scored back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Charles Rosa in July, then Charles Jourdain in September.
With the addition, the UFC 286 lineup includes:
- Roman Dolidze vs. Marvin Vettori
- Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
- Luana Carolina vs. Joanne Wood
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
- Jai Herbert vs. Ludovit Klein
- Lerone Murphy vs. Nathaniel Wood