Longtime UFC talent Joanne Wood will return to the octagon at UFC 286 next March.
Scotland’s Wood (15-8) will face Luana Carolina (8-3) in a flyweight match-up at the London, England-based event on March 18, 2023.
Multiple sources confirmed the booking to Cageside Press on Sunday, following an initial report by Ag.Fight.
Wood, training out of Syndicate MMA under coach and husband John Wood, has not competed since March 2022, when she dropped her third straight bout at the hands of Alexa Grasso. That trailed losses to Taila Santos and Lauren Murphy, not to mention the loss of a title shot after champ Valentina Shevchenko pulled out of a planned fight.
Wood and Shevchenko were expected to face off at UFC 251 in 2020, only for Shevchenko to withdraw due to injury. Wood then opted to step up against Jennifer Maia on short notice that August, but was submitted by the Brazilian, who would go on to face Shevchenko just three months later.
Carolina will be returning to the scene of the crime in a sense. She last competed in London in March of 2021, where she was knocked out in violent fashion by a Molly McCann spinning elbow.
UFC 286 will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England on March 18, 2023. While no main event has been officially announced for the card, it is expected that welterweight champ Leon Edwards will top the show. The following bouts have been reported for the event thus far:
- Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
- Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
