Nathaniel Wood is out of his next fight due to a grisly injury.
“The Prospect” was scheduled to fight Lerone Murphy at UFC 286 in London on March 18, but the featherweight announced Wednesday via Instagram that an injury suffered in training has forced him to withdraw.
Wood described the injury on Twitter as having “sliced my knee on some wooden trim on the outside of the mats going for a takedown” and later shared pictures of the injury on Instagram along with a longer explanation.
(Warning: Second slide contains a graphic image of a bloody cut)
“It is with a heavy heart to announce I will no longer be fighting in London,” Wood wrote. “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.
“Sorry for all those who were coming to see me. Going to have a sit down and think about some things. The highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. Unfortunately I cannot bend my knee until these stitches are out.”
Wood, who hails from England, has had several bout changes and cancellations since joining the UFC in 2018, but he was able to log two in-cage appearances in 2022. He defeated Charles Rosa by unanimous decision this past July and followed that up with another unanimous nod over Charles Jourdain two months later at UFC Paris.
It is not yet known if a new opponent will be found to keep Murphy on the card. Murphy, also from England, is undefeated in four UFC appearances at 3-0-1. He has not fought since October 2021 at UFC 267, where he defeated Makwan Amirkhani by second-round knockout.
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