Nathaniel Wood feeling ‘superhuman’ for London return – but frustrated at UFC matchmaking

Nathaniel Wood is ecstatic for his UFC London return but says the occasion should be even bigger.

The Englishman faces UFC debutant Losene Keita next weekend on the card at The O2, which is headlined by Movsar Evloev’s featherweight title eliminator against Briton Lerone Murphy.

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Keita is a former double champion under the Oktagon MMA banner and one of the biggest prospects in the sport.

Although Wood admitted the Belgian marks ‘possibly the toughest fight’ of his entire 13-year professional MMA career, he ultimately believes UFC matchmakers have got this one wrong.

Wood: I’m not McGregor or Pimblett, but where is ranked opponent?

“If I’m honest, I would say that I’m starting to just get a bit like, ‘What have I got to do?’” Wood told talkSPORT.com when asked about the lack (or non-existence) of ranked opponents he’s faced.

Wood extended his undefeated UFC run to three fights as an underdog against Jose Delgado last time out, having previously secured an impressive win over Morgan Charriere when the UFC last visited London.

“I’m 10 wins and three losses in the UFC,” the featherweight added.

“Two of those losses were a little bit controversial. One was a very, very close fight. One was a bulls*** fight.

“So I’m thinking, ‘Man, what have I got to do?’ I don’t know if maybe I’m just too polite and easygoing and I need to kick up more of a fuss.

“I’ve got every Tom, Dick and Harry saying, ‘You need to trash-talk more!’

“I’m like, ‘Listen, that’s not me.’ If everyone trash-talks, it’s no longer even worth watching.

“I’ll leave that to the people that are good at it — Conor McGregor, Paddy Pimblett, Colby Covington — that’s not me.

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“If just being myself, a normal guy from London, is not going to get me in the rankings, then so be it.

“I’ll just keep chipping away at whoever they give me, and then eventually they’re going to have to give me a top 10, top 15, whatever it be.”

Wood, who opened up on his early retirement plan when speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of his win over Delgado in Abu Dhabi, wants to work his way up the rankings to ultimately get paid more.

With two daughters, the 32-year-old doesn’t plan on hanging about for much longer, so he wants fights, and big ones, to come thick and fast.

Although Wood admits he’s been happy with the pay for his whole UFC career, he says his new contract under the UFC’s new broadcast+ deal with Paramount+ left him unsatisfied.

“At the end of the day, I’ll fight anyone they give me,” Wood said.

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“I’ve got possibly the toughest fight of my career and the guy’s not even had a fight in the UFC. 

“So it’s a bit frustrating if I’m honest, but it is what it is. I’m a martial artist. I’m not a performer. 

“I’m not this kind of WWE superstar that’s going to come in and just try and sell it before the fights even happened. 

“I’m going to turn up on March 21st. I’m going to try and take his head off, and that’s pretty much how it ends.”

London has Wood feeling ‘superhuman’

Wood is confident his game plan will get him over the line against Keita on March 21.

For the South West London man to be fighting on home soil again only adds extra motivation.

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“It’s everything,” Wood, who trains at Great Britain Top Team under Brad Pickett, said about fighting in the English capital.

“I can’t really describe it, to be honest. It gives you a kind of motivation or a buzz, if you like, that isn’t there for normal fights. 

“It gives you that extra adrenaline rush, if that makes sense. So on fight night at the O2, I feel superhuman.

“I go in there feeling like I could take on King Kong if I wanted to. I’m buzzing to be back in my hometown.”

Wood vs Keita is one of the final preliminary bouts at UFC London, before the likes of Michael ‘Venom’ Page and Luke Riley feature on the main card.

The winner of Evloev vs Murphy in the main event will likely face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski next.

UFC Schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.