UFC hopeful says his ‘-ov’ surname made Nathaniel Wood turn him down

Undefeated bantamweight Aboubakar Younousov has claimed that Nathaniel Wood declined a short-notice opportunity to fight him at UFC Paris, attributing the refusal to his Caucasus-origin surname. Younousov (8-0), the Ares FC bantamweight champion, says he was ready to step in on short notice when Wood's original opponent, Mairon Santos, withdrew a week before the event. He was even willing to move up a weight class to secure the matchup. In an Instagram post, Younousov suggested that fighters with surnames ending in '-ov' or '-ev' face institutional discrimination within mixed martial arts, and that Wood viewed the fight as unnecessarily risky despite having advantages in weight, camp preparation, and experience. Younousov expressed confidence that his willingness demonstrates the respect opponents hold for him, while vowing to work harder than his peers to earn a UFC contract. "Everything is fine. It's only a matter of time before I make it to the UFC and succeed there," he wrote. Wood's vacant slot at Accor Arena in the French capital on September 5 was ultimately filled by undefeated Moldovan Pavel Andrusca (8-0), who stepped up to make his UFC debut against "The Last Kingsman."