UFC prospect Nathaniel Wood is leaving the bantamweight division.
The former Cage Warriors champion announced on social media that he’s heading up to featherweight and is closing the book on the 135 lbs division… at least for the moment.
That’s the end of a chapter for now, myself and the team have made the decision to move up and compete at the 145lbs. I’m excited and motivated more than either to go in there powerful, fuelled and happy!
Who would you like to see me face ? pic.twitter.com/nTRlDB1iBy
— Nathaniel Wood (@TheProspectMMA) March 31, 2022
“That’s the end of a chapter for now, myself and the team have made the decision to move up and compete at the 145lbs. I’m excited and motivated more than either to go in there powerful, fuelled and happy!” Wood wrote.
Wood (17-5) was supposed to face Liudvik Sholinian at UFC London, but he was unable to make the event due to the war in Ukraine. Sholinian was replaced by Vince Morales, but when Morales withdrew due to illness Wood ended up not competing in front of his home fans at all.
The 28-year-old’s last fight was a 140 lbs catchweight loss against Casey Kenney at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi way back in October 2020. He began his UFC career with three straight submission wins over Johnny Eduardo, Andre Ewell, and Jose Alberto Quinonez before suffering a TKO defeat against John Dodson. Wood returned to the win column by besting John Castaneda by unanimous decision.
Wood has never missed weight in his career — the Kenney fight was an agreed upon catchweight since it was short notice for both men — and he indicated that the main reason for moving to featherweight was “to be more active.”
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