Nathaniel Wood announced on Wednesday that he is out of his UFC 286 fight with Lerone Murphy following a “freak accident” involving, of all things, wood.
Wood explained what happened to him on Instagram.
“It is with a heavy heart to announce I will no longer be fighting in London,” Wood said. “It seems I just can’t get a break in this game with constant setbacks. A freak accident landing on wooden trim in wrestling practice.”
He explained a little more on Twitter: “For those asking I unfortunately sliced my knee on some wooden trim on the outside of the mats going for a takedown.”
Wood’s Instagram post included a photo of him on crutches, as well as images of the nasty gash on his right knee before and after it was stitched up.
“Unfortunately I cannot bend my knee until these stitches are out,” Wood said.
Wood (13-6-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) vs. Murphy (11-0-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) was set to be a featherweight clash between Brits on English soil.
Wood, 29, is 2-0 since moving up to featherweight. “The Prospect” scored back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Charles Rosa in July and most recently Charles Jourdain in September.
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.
It’s unknown if Murphy will get a replacement for UFC 286, which takes place March 18 at The O2 in London.
Below is the updated lineup for UFC 286:
- Champ Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman – for welterweight title
- Rafael Fiziev vs. Justin Gaethje
- Roman Dolidze vs. Marvin Vettori
- Gunnar Nelson vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Luana Carolina vs. Joanne Wood
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
- Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
- Jai Herbert vs. Ludovit Klein
- Chris Duncan vs. Omar Morales
- Veronica Macedo vs. Juliana Miller
- Jafel Filho vs. Muhammad Mokaev
- Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jack Shore
- Yanal Ashmoz vs. Sam Patterson
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
