Nationality: British
Weight: Bantamweight (135lbs)
Record: 9-3
Nickname: “The Prospect”
Facts: Cage Warriors, BAMMA, and Bellator veteran.
Nathaniel “The Prospect” Wood has earned a name for himself as one of the hottest rising prospects in the UK, with nine wins and only three losses on the scene. He has victories under the Cage Warriors, BAMMA, and Bellator banner.
Wood debuted as a professional with a 2-0 amateur record. He matched that as a pro, with his first two fights, both wins, coming at Fusion FC. The Team Titan fighter then fought twice on UCMMA shows and picked up another two wins, extending his record to 4-0 as a professional. Five fights in, and Wood faced his toughest test to date in the form of Ed Arthur.
The Londoner faced Arthur in his BAMMA debut, at BAMMA 15, but lost for the first time as a professional, suffering a third round submission defeat. Rebounding from the loss, Wood returned to UCMMA, and defeated Alexander Bilobrovka before making his Cage Warriors debut and submitting Steve McCombe in the first round of their bout at Cage Warriors 74. Next came Nathaniel’s second loss, in a fight most thought he would win.
Squaring off against Mike Cutting at BAMMA 18, Wood went into the bout as a favourite, but after being being caught with a submission, the Englishman was forced to tap, and lost for the second time. “The Prospect” managed to squeeze two fights into the closing months of 2015, defeating Thiago Aguiar at Phoenix Fight Night in September, before defeating Bryan Creighton at BAMMA 23 in November.
2016 started off on a massive high, with the 8-2 fighter being gifted a title fight. He would be fighting for the vacant Lonsdale Bantamweight Championship against crafty, and well known UK MMA veteran Alan Philpott. The bout was a fun, high paced, exciting one, in which both men had their moments. The thing that stood out most about the fight whilst it was happening, was the sheer amount of blood coming for Wood’s nose. He had suffered a broken nose, and after what seemed like gallons of blood had leaked, the doctor was called in, and the fight was stopped.
A heartbreaking defeat for Nathaniel, possibly his most disappointing to date given the circumstances. Nevertheless, Wood held his head up high and was rewarded with the biggest opportunity of his career. A fight on the second largest MMA platform in the world, right in front of his own country. The bout against Chase Morton was at featherweight, ten pounds heavier than Wood’s usual weight, and took place at Bellator 158 in London.
A high work rate and all around better game helped Nathaniel take the first two rounds pretty convincingly, but he weren’t satisfied with that. The London born fighter continued to pick away, land shots, and look for the finish, and the finish he got, when he locked up a rear naked choke and forced a tap at the 3:55 mark of Round 3.
Next time out, Wood will come up against eight time UFC veteran Vaughan Lee this Saturday, April 1, at Cage Warriors 82 inside the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
