Wood Faces Undefeated Replacement After Santos Pulls Out

Nathaniel Wood has a new opponent for UFC Paris this Saturday. The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 winner Mairon Santos withdrew from their scheduled bout, and undefeated Moldovan finisher Pavel Andrusca accepted the short-notice replacement, MMA Mania reports.

Andrusca carries an unblemished 8-0 record into his octagon debut, with seven consecutive finishes and six career knockouts. The 24-year-old most recently flattened Gexipengchu with a first-round right hand at UAE Warriors 72 in July. He has spent his entire career at bantamweight and now moves up a weight class with less than a week to prepare.

Wood's Ranking On The Line Against Debuting Finisher

Wood holds the No. 8 ranking at featherweight and brings a four-fight winning streak into the Accor Arena. The Englishman has beaten Losene Keita, Jose Delgado, Morgan Charriere and Daniel Pineda during his current run and owns an 11-3 UFC record overall.

The replacement arguably puts more pressure on Wood than his original booking. He must now defend his spot in the top ten against an unknown quantity, a 5-foot-6 finisher with an 88 percent stoppage rate whom most fans have never seen fight.

Andrusca has stopped five opponents in the first round. UFC Paris airs live from Paris on September 5, with Dan Hooker and Salahdine Parnasse headlining the card.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — TUF winner out of UFC Paris, undefeated knockout artist steps in on short notice