Nathaniel Wood sat on his sofa, a cuppa tea in hand, his dog Ivar by his side and, for the first time in nearly two years, everything felt right in his world.
“D’you know what? I don’t even think I can explain it,” he said on Monday evening, when asked about the emotions and feelings that washed over him follow his victory over Charles Rosa in July. “It is just being on Cloud 9. It’s that this is how I’m supposed to live, d’you know what I mean?”
For nearly two years prior to that contest, Wood left rudderless — a fighter stuck on the sidelines, unable to fight.
A broken hand originally put him on the shelf, and a second break scuttled a return engagement with Jonathan Martinez. He was slated to make his comeback at home in London in March, but the war in Ukraine forced his original opponent, Liudvik Sholinian, out of the matchup, and his replacement, Vince Morales, withdrew two days before the contest.
Gutted and forced to endure an even longer stay outside the Octagon, he opted to change divisions, moving up to featherweight, and when the UFC returned to London in July, Wood was there, showcasing his skills with a unanimous decision win over the American veteran Rosa.
“This is how I’m supposed to be feeling,” he said. “This is me with my purpose in life, whereas when I’m on the sidelines, you don’t know what to do with yourself. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘What is the point in this?’ but now I’ve got that purpose back. I can’t really explain the feeling, but it’s a good one, that’s for sure.”
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As much as being back — and being back in the win column — are terrific feelings, the way Wood is feeling now that he’s made the permanent move to the 145-pound weight class actually tops them all.
While not overly big for the bantamweight ranks, there weren’t really any excess pounds for “The Prospect” to part with as he worked down to the 135-pound limit, which meant training camp was focused on cutting calories, leaving his body taxed long before he’d even stepped into the Octagon.
“Cutting to 135 was miserable; I was starting to hate my job,” said Wood. “It wasn’t healthy. For six weeks of a fight camp, the only thing I’m thinking about is burning calories and making weight, and I’m no longer enjoying the process. There are no longer training sessions for opponents — it’s purely burn calories, burn calories, and it was just taking its toll on me.
“I had a long layoff, I went back to 135, my opponent pulled out, and I just thought, ‘Why am I doing this?’ so it was time to move up,” he added. “I get on with the 145’ers in the gym absolutely fine, so it just made sense to make that move.”
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Not only did he feel good throughout training camp and the bout with Rosa, but as soon as he got home that evening and settled down for that cuppa tea alongside his Belgian Malinois, Wood was feeling ready to hustle right back into the gym and start preparing for a hasty return.
“After fights, people usually want some time off, chill out, go and enjoy a life, but I’ve missed out on this for two years now, so I’ve got time to make up for,” said Wood, who won his first three UFC appearances by submission and heads into Saturday’s clash with Jourdain brandishing in an 18-5 record overall. “After that fight, there was nothing that I wanted to do more than just go back, get in the gym, and get in another fight.
“I was on the treadmill thinking, ‘I’m fit still, so why am I waiting 12 weeks or something; let’s just get another one.’
“Paris is obviously going to be an historic event — it’s the first time the UFC has been through — and it made sense. I thought, ‘It’s local, it’s a couple hours from my home, so why not get on it and go make a statement?’”
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Along with getting the chance to make an expeditious return to action, this week’s short journey to Paris also culminates with the opportunity to share the cage with the exciting and talented Jourdain, someone who possesses all the attributes and qualities Wood is looking for in a dance partner as he embarks on his move to the featherweight ranks.
“He’s a very exciting fighter and that’s what I want in opponents — I want people that are going to put me up the ladder,” he said of his French-Canadian opponent, who is coming off a competitive loss with Shane Burgos on Long Island in July. “I see him obviously as a very dangerous opponent, very talented and, as I say, it’s that fighter that is ranked above me, so it’s a good guy to get on my CV.
“I see where he’s more of a striker, which plays into my game because I would say that I’m a striker. He comes to bang, I come to bang, so you’ve got 50Gs written on that all night, and it just looks exciting.
“He’s quite reckless — he throws some wild stuff — but that’s perfect for me,” Wood added. “I see many openings when he does that, and I’m going to be looking to capitalize. I’ve got someone who is actually going to fight, which is what I want, so I can’t wait for it.”
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While the hasty return is somewhat tethered to making up for lost time, it’s also simply a matter of Wood being ready, willing, and able to turn around and compete again six weeks after his last appearance, which is something he could seldom do during his bantamweight days.
On top of that, the Great Britain Top Team representative sees this as the ideal time to take advantage of his fitness and focus, feed into his love of competing, and see if he can make a run towards the top of the division, since he is getting on in years.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got three or four years now where I’m going to be in my prime, so now is the time where I want to make a run for that belt, and with every fight, I want to work my way up the ladder and hopefully get a shot at gold eventually.
“I’m 30 next year,” he said, mentioning the milestone birthday in the manner most approaching the end of their twenties would, and that makes those a decade or more beyond that marker smile. “I felt like yesterday I was 21, and I don’t know when I’ll be coming out of my prime, but I know for sure that I’m going into it now, so now’s the time.
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“I love this sport, I love competing, I love fighting, so there is no reason why I wouldn’t want to be fighting, other than weight cuts, which I don’t really have to focus on too much now. So I want to stay injury-free, healthy, look after my body, and go in there and do what I love to do.”
After more than a year of frustration and heartache, periods of doubt and probably a couple legitimate moments where he thought of trading it all in for the steadiness of being a postman, Wood is back, primed to chase down that ineffable feeling that comes with securing a victory inside the Octagon, and eager to keep pushing forward in his new weight category.
“I’ve got that buzz again,” he said. “I’m addicted to that feeling (of winning) and come Saturday night, I look to be doing it again.”
And then, he’ll settle on the sofa with Ivar, cuppa tea in hand, and figure out the next step on his road to the top of the featherweight division.
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Tuivasa took place on September 3, 2022, live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
