Nathaniel Wood (born August 5, 1993) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage War ...

, where he was the Bantamweight Champion.

Background

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

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 Bantamweight champion

Nathaniel Wood Cage Warriors belt 02062017

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. 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. 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. Wood won the fight by a first-round technical knockout, after weathering some early counter right hands by Kovacic. Wood was scheduled to make his first title defense against Josh Reed at CWFC 86 on September 17, 2017. 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. Wood made his second and final title defense against Luca Iovine at CWFC 92 on March 24, 2018. Wood made quick work of the challenger, knocking him out with a left hook after just 50 seconds. It was announced on April 5, 2018, that Wood had signed with the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Wood made his promotional debut against

Johnny Eduardo Johnny Eduardo (born August 3, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the bantamweight division. He has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Eduardo made his p ...

on 1 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes. He won the fight via submission in Round 2, for which he was awarded with a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Wood was originally scheduled to face

Tom Duquesnoy Tom Phillipe Duquesnoy (born June 21, 1993, in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France) is a retired French mixed martial artist. He is the former undisputed BAMMA Featherweight Champion and undisputed BAMMA Bantamweight Champion, and fought in the bantamwe ...

on 29 December 2018 at

UFC 232 ''UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 29, 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout b ...

. However, Dusquenoy pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by

Andre Ewell Andre Eugene Ewell (born January 21, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also competed for Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES MMA) and is a former ...

. He won the bout via submission in the third round. Wood faced

José Alberto Quiñónez José Alberto Quiñónez Navarro (born July 28, 1990) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. He was one of the cast members in The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 1, The Ultimate Fighter UFC TV reality show ...

on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal. He won the fight via a submission in round two. Wood faced John Dodson on 15 February 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2. He lost the fight via TKO in round three. Wood was scheduled to face

Umar Nurmagomedov Umar Nurmagomedov (born March 1, 1996), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and Profe ...

on 26 July 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 14 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 14'' and ''UFC Fight Island 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu ...

. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout due to his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov's passing He was replaced by promotional newcomer

John Castañeda John Anthony Castañeda (born December 18, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for Combate G ...

. Wood won the fight via unanimous decision. Wood faced

Casey Kenney Casey James Kenney (born March 20, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently competing in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and he was the former Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight champion and L ...

on 24 October 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded w ...

. He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Wood was scheduled to face Jonathan Martinez on 4 September 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. However, Wood was removed from the bout in mid-August for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Marcelo Rojo. Wood was scheduled to face Liudvik Sholinian on 19 March 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 204 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 204'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 62'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 19, 2022 at The O2 Arena in Lo ...

. However due to the

War in Ukraine The following is a list of major conflicts fought by Ukraine, by Ukrainian people or by regular armies during periods when independent states existed on the modern territory of Ukraine, from the Kyivan Rus' times to the present day. It also i ...

, Sholinian was unable to leave the country or train so he was replaced by

Vince Morales Vince Morales (born November 12, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division most recently for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional mixed martial artist since 2015, Morales has also com ...

. In turn, just days before the event, Morales withdrew due to illness, and the pair will be rescheduled for future event. In his debut at featherweight, Wood faced

Charles Rosa Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Charles is of Italian descent and, the son of Chucky and ...

on 23 July 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 208 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 208'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 23, 2022, at The O2 Arena in Lon ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Wood faced Charles Jourdain on September at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Wood was scheduled to face

Lerone Murphy Lerone Murphy (born July 22, 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Murphy, who was born and raised in Old Trafford, went to St Edward's Primary Sch ...

on March 18, 2023 at

UFC 286 ''UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 18, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background A UFC Welterweight Championsh ...

. However, Wood was forced to withdraw from the event due to leg injury.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (One time) ** Fight of the Night (One time) *

** Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship (One time; first) ***Two successful title defenses * MMAjunkie.com **2020 October Fight of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 19–5 , Charles Jourdain , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–4 , John Dodson , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:16 ,

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It i ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:12 , Inglewood, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 ,

, Submission (D'Arce choke) , UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Luca Iovine , KO (punch) , Cage Warriors 92 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Josh Reed , TKO (punches) , Cage Warriors 86 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Marko Kovacevic , KO (punches) , Cage Warriors 84 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Vaughan Lee , TKO (punches) , Cage Warriors 82 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:22 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Chase Morton , Submission (rear naked choke) , Bellator 158 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Alan Philpott , TKO (doctor stoppage) , BAMMA 24: Ireland vs. England , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:40 ,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Bryan Creighton , Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA 23: Night of Champions , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Thiago Aguiar , Decision (unanimous) , Phoenix Fight Night 27 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Bournemouth, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Mike Cutting , Submission (armbar) , BAMMA 18: Duquesnoy vs. Klaczek , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Steve McCombe , TKO (arm injury) , Cage Warriors 74 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Alexander Bilobrovka , Submission (triangle choke) , UCMMA 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Ed Arthur , Submission (rear naked choke) , BAMMA 15: Thompson vs. Selmani , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:48 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Abdullah Saleh , KO , UCMMA 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Grisha Adams , Submission (triangle choke) , UCMMA 35 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Damo Weeden , TKO (punches) , Fusion Fighting Championship - Reality Check , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , James Humphries , TKO (punches) , Fusion Fighting Championship: Breakthrough , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:33 ,

, England , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Nathaniel 1993 births Living people Bantamweight mixed martial artists English male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu English Muay Thai practitioners English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters