Nathaniel Wood (fighter)

Nathaniel Wood (born August 5, 1993) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for Cage Warriors, where he was the Bantamweight Champion.

Nathaniel Wood
Nathaniel Wood at UFC 232 - wrapped in his country flag
Born (1993-08-05) August 5, 1993
London, United Kingdom[1]
Other namesThe Prospect
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight145 lb (66 kg)
DivisionBantamweight (2012-2022)
Featherweight (2022-present)
Reach69 in (175 cm)
Fighting out ofMorden, England
TeamNova Forca
Raptors Strike Force
Team Titan (2017–2019)[2][3]
Great Britain Top Team (2019–present)[4]
TrainerBrad Pickett
Years active2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total25
Wins19
By knockout8
By submission5
By decision6
Losses6
By knockout2
By submission2
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Growing up playing football, Wood followed his father to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice at the age of 16.[5] He attended college for carpentry for a spell, but dropped out in order to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.[5]

Professional mixed martial arts career

Early career

Wood made his professional debut against James Humphries at Fusion Fighting Championship: Breakthrough on February 18, 2012. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. He went on to amass a 9–3 record, before signing with Cage Warriors.[6]

Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion
Nathaniel Wood won the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship

Wood was scheduled to make his Cage Warriors debut against Vaughan Lee at CWFC 82 on April 1, 2017. They were originally scheduled to meet at CWFC 80, before the fight was postponed due to an anomaly found on Wood's brain in a pre-fight scan.[7] Wood staggered Lee near the beginning of the second round, and pursued him for the remainder of the fight, knocking him out with a right straight at the 4:22 minute mark.[8]

Following his dominant victory against Lee, Wood was scheduled to fight Marko Kovacevic for the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship at CWFC 84 on June 2, 2017.[9] Wood won the fight by a first-round technical knockout, after weathering some early counter right hands by Kovacic.[10]

Wood was scheduled to make his first title defense against Josh Reed at CWFC 86 on September 17, 2017.[11] Reed dominated the champion for the duration of the short-lived bout, surging forward with power shots and managing to drop Wood with a combination of punches. Wood however managed to stagger back to his feet and counter the onrushing Reed with a counter left, winning the fight by a first-round knockout.[12]

Wood made his second and final title defense against Luca Iovine at CWFC 92 on March 24, 2018.[13] Wood made quick work of the challenger, knocking him out with a left hook after just 50 seconds.[14]

It was announced on April 5, 2018, that Wood had signed with the UFC.[15]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Wood made his promotional debut against Johnny Eduardo on 1 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes. He won the fight via submission in Round 2,[16] for which he was awarded with a Performance of the Night bonus.[17]

Wood was originally scheduled to face Tom Duquesnoy on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232.[18] However, Dusquenoy pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by Andre Ewell.[19] He won the bout via submission in the third round.[20]

Wood faced José Alberto Quiñónez on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal.[21] He won the fight via a submission in round two.[22]

Wood faced John Dodson on 15 February 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2.[23] He lost the fight via TKO in round three.[24]

Wood was scheduled to face Umar Nurmagomedov on 26 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN 14.[25] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout due to his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov's passing [26] He was replaced by promotional newcomer John Castañeda.[27] Wood won the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

Wood faced Casey Kenney on 24 October 2020 at UFC 254.[29] He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.[30] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[31]

Wood was scheduled to face Jonathan Martinez on 4 September 2021 at UFC Fight Night 191.[32] However, Wood was removed from the bout in mid-August for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Marcelo Rojo.[33]

Wood was scheduled to face Liudvik Sholinian on 19 March 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204.[34] However due to the War in Ukraine, Sholinian was unable to leave the country or train so he was replaced by Vince Morales.[35] In turn, just days before the event, Morales withdrew due to illness,[36] and the pair will be rescheduled for future event.[37]

In his debut at featherweight, Wood faced Charles Rosa on 23 July 2022 at UFC Fight Night 208.[38] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[39]

Wood faced Charles Jourdain on September at UFC Fight Night 209.[40] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[41]

Wood was scheduled to face Lerone Murphy on March 18, 2023 at UFC 286.[42] However, Wood was forced to withdraw from the event due to leg injury.[43]

Wood faced Andre Fili on July 22, 2023 at UFC on ESPN+ 82.[44] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[45]

Wood faced Muhammad Naimov on October 21, 2023, at UFC 294.[46] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[47]

Professional grappling career

Wood was booked to compete in a superfight against Aljamain Sterling at Polaris 25 on September 30, 2023.[48] However, Wood withdrew from the match and was replaced by Mike Grundy instead.[49]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
25 matches 19 wins 6 losses
By knockout 8 2
By submission 5 2
By decision 6 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 20–6 Muhammad Naimov Decision (unanimous) UFC 294 October 21, 2023 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 20–5 Andre Fili Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura July 22, 2023 3 5:00 London, England
Win 19–5 Charles Jourdain Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa September 3, 2022 3 5:00 Paris, France
Win 18–5 Charles Rosa Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall July 23, 2022 3 5:00 London, England Featherweight debut.
Loss 17–5 Casey Kenney Decision (unanimous) UFC 254 October 24, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Catchweight (140 lb) bout. Fight of the Night.
Win 17–4 John Castañeda Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till July 26, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss 16–4 John Dodson TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2 February 15, 2020 3 0:16 Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States
Win 16–3 José Alberto Quiñónez Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal March 16, 2019 2 2:46 London, England
Win 15–3 Andre Ewell Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 232 December 29, 2018 3 4:12 Inglewood, California, United States
Win 14–3 Johnny Eduardo Submission (D'Arce choke) UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes June 1, 2018 2 2:18 Utica, New York, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 13–3 Luca Iovine KO (punch) Cage Warriors 92 March 24, 2018 1 0:50 London, England Defended the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship.
Win 12–3 Josh Reed TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 86 September 17, 2017 1 2:19 London, England Defended the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship.
Win 11–3 Marko Kovacevic KO (punches) Cage Warriors 84 June 2, 2017 1 3:41 London, England Won the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship.
Win 10–3 Vaughan Lee TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 82 April 1, 2017 2 4:22 Liverpool, England
Win 9–3 Chase Morton Submission (rear naked choke) Bellator 158 July 16, 2016 2 0:48 London, England
Loss 8–3 Alan Philpott TKO (doctor stoppage) BAMMA 24 February 26, 2016 3 3:40 Dublin, Ireland For the Lonsdale Bantamweight Championship.
Win 8–2 Bryan Creighton Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 23 November 14, 2015 3 5:00 Birmingham, England
Win 7–2 Thiago Aguiar Decision (unanimous) Phoenix Fight Night 27 September 12, 2015 3 5:00 Bournemouth, England
Loss 6–2 Mike Cutting Submission (armbar) BAMMA 18 February 21, 2015 1 3:26 Wolverhampton, England
Win 6–1 Steve McCombe TKO (arm injury) Cage Warriors 74 November 15, 2014 1 2:23 London, England
Win 5–1 Alexander Bilobrovka Submission (triangle choke) UCMMA 39 May 3, 2014 1 0:34 London, England
Loss 4–1 Ed Arthur Submission (rear naked choke) BAMMA 15 April 5, 2014 3 1:48 London, England
Win 4–0 Abdullah Saleh KO UCMMA 38 February 1, 2014 1 0:22 London, England
Win 3–0 Grisha Adams Submission (triangle choke) UCMMA 35 August 3, 2013 1 3:01 London, England
Win 2–0 Damo Weeden TKO (punches) Fusion FC: Reality Check February 9, 2013 2 2:10 Epsom, England
Win 1–0 James Humphries TKO (punches) Fusion FC: Breakthrough February 18, 2012 2 0:33 Epsom, England Bantamweight debut.

[51]

See also

References
  1. "Pro Fighter Bio: Nathaniel Wood". Great Britain Top Team. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  2. "Fighter Profile: Nathaniel Wood". overtimeheroics.net. 28 July 2020.
  3. The Fight Chamber (25 February 2018). Controlled Agression [sic] (A Nathaniel Wood Film) – via YouTube.
  4. "Nathaniel Wood". gbtt.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  5. "Nathaniel 'The Prospect' Wood". theprospectapparel.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  6. "BAMMA 24 Sees the Next Generation Look to Make Definitive Statement". mmamicks.com. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. Sanford, Elis (10 March 2017). "Nathaniel Wood vs. Vaughan Lee rebooked for Cage Warriors 82". mmaplus.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. Murphy, Darragh. "Everybody's talking about Nathaniel 'The Prospect' Wood after Cage Warriors 82". joe.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. Head, Simon (12 May 2017). "Nathaniel Wood v Marko Kovacevic to headline Cage Warriors 84 in London". medium.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. Edwards, Jim (4 June 2017). "Nathaniel Wood fulfils a dream and takes home historic gold at Cage Warriors 84". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  11. MMA Junkie Staff (21 June 2017). "Cage Warriors 86 features champ Nathaniel Wood vs. Josh Reed in London". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  12. Kiely, Ben. "Single punch changes story of arguably the greatest world title fight of 2017". sportsjoe.ie. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  13. Zullino, Al (26 February 2020). "Luca Iovine: "Posso essere selezionato per il KSW"". fattimarziali.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  14. Carroll, Peter (24 March 2018). "Cage Warriors 92 results: Nathaniel Wood stops Luca Iovine in 50 seconds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  15. Edwards, Jim (5 April 2018). "Cage Warriors Champion Nathaniel Wood Signs For The UFC". mmanytt.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  16. "UFC Fight Night 131 results: Nathaniel Wood chokes out Johnny Eduardo in second". MMA Junkie. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  17. "British MMA fighter Nathaniel Wood scoops $50,000 bonus after winning his first ever UFC bout". Mirror. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  18. "UFC 232: Britain's Nathaniel Wood to meet Tom Duquesnoy in Las Vegas". BBC Sport. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  19. "Nathaniel Wood vs. Andre Ewell booked for UFC 232". MMA Fighting. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  20. Steven Marrocco (29 December 2018). "UFC 232 results: Nathaniel Wood bullies Andre Ewell before third-round submission". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  21. "Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Quinonez among three fights announced for UFC London". MMAjunkie. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  22. Pearson, Andrew (16 March 2019). "'The Prospect' Taps Quiñónez in 2nd for 8th Straight Win". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  23. Critchfield, Tristen (19 December 2019). "John Dodson vs. Nathaniel Wood booked for UFC Rio Rancho on Feb. 15". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  24. Lee, Alexander K. (15 February 2020). "UFC Rio Rancho results: John Dodson scores third-round TKO of Nathaniel Wood to snap skid". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  25. "UFC adds Nathaniel Wood vs. Umar Nurmagomedov to July 25 lineup". MMA Junkie. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  26. "Umar Nurmagomedov, Tagir Ulanbekov delay travel to Fight Island following the passing of Khabib's dad". FanSided. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  27. Nolan King and Simon Head (9 July 2020). "UFC taps John Castaneda to replace Umar Nurmagomedov, will fight Nathaniel Wood on 'Fight Island'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  28. Bitter, Shawn (25 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 3 Results: Nathaniel Wood Too Much for Debuting John Castaneda". Cageside Press. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  29. ATSteveDuncan (5 October 2020). "Casey Kenney vs. Nathaniel Wood agregado a UFC 254". MMA.uno , #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  30. Vreeland, Daniel (24 October 2020). "UFC 254 Results: Casey Kenney Outworks Nathaniel Wood in a Banger". Cageside Press. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  31. Anderson, Jay (24 October 2020). "UFC 254 Bonuses: Khabib Earns Performance Award in Final Fight". Cageside Press. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  32. Alfredo Zullino (1 July 2021). "Nathaniel Wood returns to action on September 4, faces Jonathan Martinez". BJ Penn. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  33. Dorff, Marcel (11 August 2021). "Jonathan Martinez en Marcelo Rojo treffen elkaar op 4 september". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  34. Gorrie, Jonathan (25 January 2022). "Wood to take on Sholinian in bantamweight battle at UFC London". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  35. Behunin, Alex (5 March 2022). "Liudvik Sholinian Out, Vince Morales Will Face Nathaniel Wood At UFC London". Cageside Press. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  36. Nolan King (16 March 2022). "Nathaniel Wood in need of UFC Fight Night 204 opponent after Vince Morales withdraws due to illness". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  37. "UFC London: No replacement for Nathaniel Wood, bout against Vince Morales to be rescheduled". MMA Junkie. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  38. Staff (16 June 2022). "Charles Rosa vs. Nathaniel Wood teed up for UFC's July return to London". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  39. Anderson, Jay (23 July 2022). "UFC London: Nathaniel Wood Triumphant in Return, Chews Up Charles Rosa's Leg with Calf Kicks". Cageside Press. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  40. Steve Duncan (11 August 2022). "Charles Jourdain vs. Nathaniel Wood agregado a UFC París - MMA.uno , #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español". mma.uno. Retrieved 11 August 2022. (in Spanish)
  41. Anderson, Jay (3 September 2022). "UFC Paris: Hand Needs Fixing, but Nathaniel Wood Wants on Rumored U.K. Stadium Card". Cageside Press. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  42. Al-Shatti, Shaun (6 January 2023). "Lerone Murphy vs. Nathaniel Wood set for UFC 286 in London". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  43. Calhoun, Curtis (8 February 2023). "Nathaniel Wood Announces Withdrawal From UFC 286 After 'Freak Accident'". MMA News. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  44. "Andre Fili vs. Nathaniel Wood joins UFC London lineup". MMA Junkie. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  45. Dewar, Val (22 July 2023). "UFC London: Nathaniel Wood Defeats Andre Fili by Close Decision After Both Fighters Dropped". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  46. "Nathaniel Wood to fight Muhammad Naimov at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi". MMA Junkie. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  47. Theodosi, Jamie (21 October 2023). "UFC 294: Muhammad Naimov Defeats Nathaniel Wood in Foul-Heavy Affair". Cageside Press. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  48. Blackett, Todd. "Aljamain Sterling To Face Nathaniel Wood In Polaris 25 Superfight". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  49. Jones, Phil. "Aljamain Sterling Gets New Opponent For Polaris 25". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  50. "MMA Junkie's 'Fight of the Month' for October: A catchweight scrap". MMAjunkie.com. 3 November 2020.
  51. Sherdog.com. "Nathaniel". Sherdog. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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