Vince Morales will step on short notice and fight Nathaniel Wood at UFC London in two week’s time.
On Thursday, Wood did not have a dance partner for London card as his original opponent Liudvik Sholinian had to pull out of the fight, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finding a replacement didn’t take long, however, as Al Zullino was first to report the news that Wood will be staying on the card and will instead fight Vince Morales. Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media.
Wood (17-5) is returning from a 16-month layoff when he enters the octagon later this month. “The Prospect” sat out all of 2021 with a nasty hand injury. He was scheduled to return in September, but unfortunately had to pull out of that date. Wood has alternated wins and losses in his last four bouts and is coming off a loss to former top 15 bantamweight Casey Kenney.
After a shaky start to his UFC career, Morales (11-5) has really found his stride in his last two. “Vandetta” snapped his two-fight skid by defeating Drako Martinez via unanimous decision at UFC 262, and then in his last outing, knocked out Louis Smolka in two minutes. Morales told Cageside Press that he wanted Wood after his last win, and now he’s got him.
UFC London is set to take place on March 19, 2022 at the O2 Arena in London, England. A heavyweight showdown between Alexander Volkov and England’s own Tom Aspinall headlines the event. Thus far, the following bouts are in place for the show:
- Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
- Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Rodrigo Vargas
- Gunnar Nelson vs. TBD
- Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
- Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
- Muhammad Mokaev vs Cody Durden
- Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
- Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Vince Morales
- Nikita Krylov vs. Paul Craig
- Jai Herbert vs. Ilia Topuria
