Pavel Andrusca is in at featherweight for UFC Paris. The undefeated Moldovan newcomer replaces Mairon Santos against Nathaniel Wood after Santos was removed from the bout due to illness, the UFC announced ahead of Saturday’s Fight Night at Accor Arena.
Andrusca makes his Octagon debut with seven finishes in eight wins, five of them in the first round, per the UFC’s card update. Wood, fighting out of England, stays on the prelims opposite the short-notice replacement.
The same Paris card still closes with No. 10 lightweight Dan Hooker welcoming French debutant Salahdine Parnasse. UFC’s fight-by-fight preview frames Parnasse as a former two-division KSW champion entering at 23-2 with 15 finishes; Hooker is the ranked veteran in the Accor Arena finale.
UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs Parnasse runs Saturday, September 5, 2026 in Paris. Prelims are listed for 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT, with the main card at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT, streaming on Paramount+. The promotion billed a 14-fight card.
On the main card behind the headliner: Farès Ziam vs Axel Sola (lightweight), No. 15 middleweight Michael “Venom” Page vs Nursulton Ruziboev, Daniil Donchenko vs Punahele Soriano (welterweight), Kurtis Campbell vs Trevor Peek (featherweight), and Losene Keita vs Muhammad Naimov (featherweight).
Prelims include Morgan Charriere vs Felipe Lima, Mario Pinto vs Ryan Spann, Oumar Sy vs Modestas Bukauskas, Wood vs Andrusca, Michael Aljarouj vs Fabia Sintes, No. 13 women’s bantamweight Nora Cornolle vs Klaudia Syguła, Matthieu Duclos vs Luis Felipe Dias, and Delphine Benouaich vs Sofia Montenegro.
UFC’s preview also notes Wood enters on a four-fight winning streak and has won seven of eight since moving to featherweight, with Andrusca filling in for recent TUF winner Santos.
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