Nathaniel Wood

Nathaniel Wood (born 5 August 1993) is an English professional 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. As of August 8, 2026, he is #8 in the Meta UFC featherweight rankings.

Background Growing up playing football, Wood followed his father to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice 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.

Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion

Wood was scheduled to face Vaughan Lee at CWFC 82 on 1 April 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 2 June 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 17 September 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 24 March 2018. Wood made quick work of the challenger, knocking him out with a left hook after just 50 seconds.

It was announced on 5 April 2018 that Wood had signed with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Wood made his promotional debut against Johnny Eduardo on 1 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 131. 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 on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232. However, Dusquenoy pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by Andre Ewell. He won the bout via submission in the third round.

Wood faced José Alberto Quiñónez on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. He won the fight via a submission in round two.

Wood faced John Dodson on 15 February 2020 at UFC Fight Night 167. He lost the fight via TKO in round three.

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

Wood faced Casey Kenney on 24 October 2020 at UFC 254. 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. 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. However due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sholinian was unable to leave the country or train so he was replaced by Vince Morales. In turn, just days before the event, Morales withdrew due to illness.

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

Wood faced Charles Jourdain on 3 September 2022 at UFC Fight Night 209. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

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

Wood faced Andre Fili on 22 July 2023 at UFC Fight Night 224. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

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

Wood faced Daniel Pineda on 27 July 2024, at UFC 304. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Wood faced former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Morgan Charrière on 22 March 2025 at UFC Fight Night 255. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Wood faced Jose Miguel Delgado on 25 October 2025, at UFC 321. At the weigh-ins, Delgado weighed in at 147 pounds, one pound over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight. Wood won the fight by unanimous decision.

Wood faced Losene Keita on 21 March 2026, at UFC Fight Night 270. He won the fight by split decision.

Wood was scheduled to face Mairon Santos on 5 September 2026 at UFC Fight Night 287. However, Santos was forced to withdraw due to an unspecified health issue and was replaced by promotional newcomer Pavel Andrusca.

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

Wood was scheduled to compete against Mason Jones in a superfight at Polaris 27 on 23 March 2024. However, Wood ended up facing Alex Caceres and won via decision.

Wood competed against Cameron Else at Polaris 30 on 2 November 2024. He won the match by decision.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (One time) Slacky Awards 2022 Technical Turn-Around of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Win

Losene Keita Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy

London, England Win

Jose Miguel Delgado Decision (unanimous) UFC 321

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

Morgan Charrière Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady

London, England Win

Daniel Pineda Decision (unanimous) UFC 304

Manchester, England Loss

Muhammad Naimov Decision (unanimous) UFC 294

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

Andre Fili Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura

London, England Win

Charles Jourdain Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa

Paris, France Win

Charles Rosa Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall

London, England Loss

Casey Kenney Decision (unanimous) UFC 254

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

John Castañeda Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

John Dodson TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States Win

José Alberto Quiñónez Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal

London, England Win

Andre Ewell Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 232

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Johnny Eduardo Submission (brabo choke) UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes

Utica, New York, United States Win

Luca Iovine KO (punch) Cage Warriors 92

London, England Win

Josh Reed TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 86

London, England Win

Marko Kovacevic KO (punches) Cage Warriors 84

London, England Win

Vaughan Lee TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 82

Liverpool, England Win

Chase Morton Submission (rear naked choke) Bellator 158

London, England Loss

Alan Philpott TKO (doctor stoppage) BAMMA 24

Dublin, Ireland Win

Bryan Creighton Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 23

Birmingham, England Win

Thiago Aguiar Decision (unanimous) Phoenix Fight Night 27

Bournemouth, England Loss

Mike Cutting Submission (armbar) BAMMA 18

Wolverhampton, England Win

Steve McCombe TKO (arm injury) Cage Warriors 74

London, England Win

Alexander Bilobrovka TKO (punches) Ultimate Challenge MMA 39

London, England Loss

Ed Arthur Submission (rear naked choke) BAMMA 15

London, England Win

Abdullah Saleh TKO (punches) Ultimate Challenge MMA 38

London, England Win

Grisha Adams Submission (triangle choke) Ultimate Challenge MMA 35

London, England Win

Damo Weeden TKO (punches) Fusion FC: Reality Check

Epsom, England