Umar Nurmagomedov has been pulled from UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till, replacing him against Nathaniel Wood is John Castaneda.
MMA Junkie first reported the news, although no reason was given for Nurmagomedov’s withdrawal.
Wood (16-4-0) has won three of four under the UFC banner, with those wins coming over Johnny Eduardo, Andre Ewell and Jose Alberto Quinonez. Wood has suffered one loss in the UFC and that came via third round TKO to John Dodson at UFC Fight Night Rio Rancho. Wood has competed a total of twenty times as a professional MMA fighter and two of those bouts went the distance.
Castaneda (17-4-0) is going to be making his UFC debut in this bout and does so despite winning just one of his last three fights. Castaneda is a former Combate Americas Bantamweight Champion, having spent the majority of his professional MMA career competing in that promotion. Castaneda also competed on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series Episode 4, defeating Cheyden Leialoha by unanimous decision.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till takes place on Saturday, July 25 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Robert Whittaker and Darren Till headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.
