European MMA fans were on the verge of tears when it was announced that a rib injury had forced Tom Duquesnoy out of his bantamweight tilt with Nathaniel Wood at UFC 232.

Andre Ewell has since replaced the French fighter and will take on the Brit in Las Vegas, but “The Prospect” insisted that the fans were not the only people who were disappointed that the former Cage Warriors champion vs. former BAMMA champion bout fell apart.

“I’m gutted that Tom pulled because I know that meant so much to a lot of fans around Europe especially,” Wood told Eurobash.

“Obviously, me and him were on the same promotion with BAMMA about two or three years ago, so that’s a fight that’s been in the works for a long time. For me, I’m just glad I got a replacement and I’ve still got a fight.”

If all goes according to plan for Wood, a victory over Ewell will pave his way to a main card slot in his hometown for the promotion’s annual show in the English capital. Although he believes Duquesnoy could have contested their initial bout even with his rib injury, he insisted he would be more than happy if the promotion rebooked their clash for the March event.

“I’d like to think that [Duquesnoy] wouldn’t have done that. He’s been around and he’s done so well in his career that I can’t imagine he’s just pulled out to avoid me. I definitely feel like the rib injury is a bit of an excuse because I feel like maybe he wasn’t in the right camp and he realized he was in for a fight,” said Wood.

“Maybe he just thought, ‘I’ve hurt my rib a little bit, let’s pull out’, because I’ve done exactly what he’s done in the past and I’ve pushed on through fight camps. There’s never been a time when I’ve gone in there feeling 100 percent fresh, but it is what it is. I hope he heals up, gets better and we can get the fight on for another time, maybe in London.”

Wood also declared interest in a showdown with a man he has had previous online interactions with, and the last man to fight his mentor Brad Pickett, Marlon Vera.

“I think I’d rather fight ‘Chito’ Vera. That’s a guy I really want to fight, he gave me a lot of crap, so that’s a fight I’ll definitely be asking for. 100 percent [I’d be interested in fighting] Tom Duquesnoy [in London] as well. They can all get it, as they say.”

Check out the latest episode of Eurobash. The Nathaniel Wood interview begins at 1:05:30.