Unbeaten prospect Gabriel Santos to replace Nathaniel Wood vs. Lerone Murphy at UFC 286

Undefeated featherweight Gabriel Santos is stepping in on days’ notice to replace Nathaniel Wood against Lerone Murphy in his octagon debut at UFC 286 on March 18, multiple people with knowledge of the news told MMA Fighting following a report by Eurosport.

UFC 286 takes place at O2 Arena in London and airs live on ESPN+ pay-per-view, headlined by the trilogy clash between welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Santos (10-0) knocked out fellow Brazilian prospect Jose Delano in his most recent bout this past January to capture the LFA 145-pound title. “Mosquitinho” also holds a win over Elves Brener, who recently beat Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 284.

Murphy (11-0-1) has won his past three in the UFC since a split draw against Tukhugov in his debut, knocking out Ricardo Ramos and Makwan Amirkhani, with a decision victory against Douglas Silva de Andrade in between.

Check the updated UFC 286 line-up below.

Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman

Rafael Fiziev vs. Justin Gaethje

Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze

Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina

Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena

Gabriel Santos vs. Lerone Murphy

Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani

Julianna Miller vs. Veronica Macedo

Ludovit Klein vs. Jai Herbert

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho

Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Dusko Todorovic

Sam Patterson vs. Yanal Ashmoz

Casey O’Neill vs. Jennifer Maia

Jake Hadley vs. Malcolm Gordon

Mike Heck contributed to this report.