Wood was originally scheduled to fight Mairon
Santos at
UFC Paris on Sept. 5. However, Santos pulled out of the bout
due to illness and was replaced by Pavel
Andrusca, who stepped up for his UFC debut on five days'
notice. Wood's win streak came to a halt and he's now addressed the
result.

Nathaniel Wood vows to return stronger after losing to Pavel
Andrusca at UFC Paris

Wood was a -330 favorite going into his bout against the undefeated
Moldovan, who was a +240 underdog. However, Andrusca proved that he
could hold his own at the top level by out-striking Wood in the
first round. While Wood gained momentum in the second round,
Andrusca edged out the third round to earn an upset win via
unanimous decision.

Reacting to his loss at UFC Paris, Wood apologized to his team for
not performing to his potential. However, “The Last Kingsmanâ€
promises to bounce back stronger as every loss ignites a fire in
him.

“Any given Sunday,†Wood wrote on X. “Unfortunately, I didn't
perform how I could or should have, sorry to my team for not doing
what I needed. Losing really does spark something inside, I'll be
right back.â€

Wood (23-7) was on a four-fight winning streak before losing to
Andrusca (9-0). The Englishman had previously thwarted prospects
like Morgan
Charriere, Jose
Delgado and Losene
Keita.

Valentina
Shevchenko recently vacated her UFC women's flyweight title to
deal with an injury. Natalia
Silva will now fight Cong Wang for
the vacant flyweight title at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Arena in Salt Lake City. This caused a
stir, as an interim title would be the option in such scenarios,
but Shevchenko vacating the belt has sparked a discussion online
about inconsistent practices on the UFC's part.

Paulo Costa questions why Alex Pereira is ranked No. 4 at
heavyweight

Professional Fighters League women's featherweight champ
Cris
Cyborg recently noted that UFC women's bantamweight champion
Kayla
Harrison has been inactive longer than Shevchenko. Cyborg
argues that if inactivity is the criterion, Harrison should also be
stripped of her title.

Costa supported Cyborg’s claim while slamming the UFC over a
discrepancy in its practices for different fighters. “Borrachinhaâ€
can't comprehend why former light heavyweight champion Alex
Pereira is ranked in the UFC's official heavyweight rankings
despite having never won at heavyweight.

“Yeah it’s really inconvenient; the UFC doesn't have a consistent
standard of behavior or set of rules—they use double standards all
the time,†Costa wrote on X. “Another thing is, why on earth is
Alex still ranked at Light Heavyweight after fighting and losing at
Heavyweight? And why is he ranked 4th at Heavyweight without a
single win there—ahead of [Josh
Hokit]?â€

Pereira (13-4) vacated his light heavyweight title earlier this
year and moved up to heavyweight, where he came up short against
Ciryl
Gane in a bid for the interim title at
UFC Freedom 250. Meanwhile, Costa (16-4) has been accusing the
UFC of not offering him a suitable matchup for the last remaining
fight on his current contract.

The former UFC title challenger has been training with A.J. McKee,
who is set to challenge Rajabali
Shaidullaev for the
Rizin featherweight title and the vacant
Professional Fighters League featherweight title at Super
Rizin 5 on Sept. 5 in Osaka, Japan.

Brian Ortega says elite fighters outside the UFC can humble its
roster

McKee and Ortega have been working together in preparation for
their upcoming bouts, with the latter set to return at UFC
331. “T-City†recently lauded the former Bellator
champion's elite skill set and believes that some UFC fighters
would get humbled by fighters from other promotions. According to
Ortega, the UFC doesn't sign some fighters because it understands
the threat they pose.

“The UFC is just a marketing machine,†Ortega said on Anatomy of a
Fighter. “There [are] people outside [the UFC] that would whoop us,
and they know it. They are not inviting them. There are people who
dedicate their lives to this and you see it. There's no faking
technique and skill; the heart and even the mindset… I know [McKee]
knows what he is doing and he is at the highest level.â€

Ortega (16-5) will look to rebound from two losses when he runs it
back with Renato
“Money†Moicano (21-7) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Meanwhile,
McKee (25-2) is on a three-fight winning streak going into his
clash against the undefeated Shaidullev (19-0), who has a 100%
finishing rate.