Nathaniel Wood
Skill profile
138 MMA anchors Striking, TD Defense, Grappling · his tags and claims adjust Accuracy, Striking D, Durability, Wrestling, Control.
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Insider info
vs Losene Keita lean UFC Fight Night Evloev vs Murphy Full Card Preview & Predictions · March 15, 2026
sides with Wood, 'could be wrong' twice
Rated the more technical, probably better striker of the two: accurate, good high guard, good hand speed, with combos and leg kicks present, and a real strength -- he recovers quickly when hurt, though he is also described as getting hurt fairly often. On the ground he is called the better grappler here: mixes in takedowns well, good trip, good sprawl, present top control, and genuinely opportunistic and quick to attack with submissions. The analyst sides with him as the more skilled fighter overall while openly flagging real knockout risk.
vs Jose Delgado lean UFC 321 Analysis, Prediction, And Breakdown · October 20, 2025 · 1 read since
Calls it close with a clear path for both, sides with Delgado on recent momentum, then adds a root-beer wager-caution close.
A good, well-regarded striker -- really good leg kicks worked to accumulation, good combinations, accurate, high guard -- whose biggest weapon is hand speed carried over from his bantamweight days. A good grappler as well: mixes in takedowns, good trips and sprawl, top control, and opportunistic submissions, particularly chokes. Moved up from bantamweight to featherweight, which helps the hand-speed matchup but leaves him smaller than most opponents at the new weight. As of 2025-10-20.
vs Morgan Charriere clear UFC Fight Night Edwards vs Brady Full Card Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown · March 16, 2025 · 2 reads since
He concludes the fight mostly stays standing and backs Cherriere's heavier hands to win the exchanges, despite crediting Wood's grappling edge.
As of 2025-03-16, not his newest read. A solid, accurate striker with a constant leg kick and quick hands, undercut by limited one-shot power because of his size for the division. His grappling is credited with a slight edge in this matchup: a good sprawl, mixed-in takedowns and trips, and opportunistic submissions.
vs Daniel Pineda clear UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 · July 23, 2024 · 3 reads since
states outright Wood is 'the better fighter' and 'yes I think he wins'; the separate line about staying away from betting Wood is explicit wager caution tied to his price as 'a very big favorite,' not doubt about who wins -- a dual hedge kept apart per the pick-shape rule, so the pick stands at clear rather than being demoted.
Called 'a very complete fighter' despite his small frame for the division: a very good grappler with a reliable sprawl, mixed-in takedowns and opportunistic, quick submission attempts, paired with accurate, fast-handed combination striking and a good high guard he'll need against Pineda's power.
vs Muhammad Naimov lean UFC 294 Full Card Breakdown, Predictions, & Analysis · October 18, 2023 · 4 reads since
Commits to Wood as the skill-for-skill better fighter, expected to edge this out on the scorecards rather than dominate. A real, reasoned pick, but explicitly called a tricky matchup given the size/cardio concerns.
Nathaniel Wood is credited with good grappling -- a good sprawl, good takedowns of his own that he mixes in with his strikes, and good opportunistic submissions when an opening appears. His striking is called incredibly technical, with very solid leg kicks singled out as a favorite trait (they wear an opponent down to set up his combinations), great combinations, and accuracy with both hands and kicks. Two problems are flagged: he's quite small for featherweight, and his cardio has faded in high-pace fights in the past, though that fade is said to be less pronounced at featherweight than it was when he fought at bantamweight.
vs Andre Fili clear UFC Fight Night Aspinall vs Tybura Full Card Breakdown, Analysis, and Predictions (UFC London) · July 18, 2023 · 5 reads since
Says twice that he really likes Wood here -- repeated and unhedged, built on an explicit cardio-trajectory argument.
Wood is a very good striker who moves in and out of range well and has some of the best leg kicks in the division, backed by a good grappling game (sprawl, opportunistic subs, trips, top-side control); he is undersized for the weight class but the analyst credits his move up to 145 with fixing his old cardio problems.
vs Charles Jourdain lean UFC Paris Full Card Preview & Predictions · August 29, 2022 · 6 reads since
Names the same winner three separate times, but each time underlines how tight the matchup is and admits the result could easily flip -- a direct hedge on the outcome itself, offset only by a specific stated mechanism (Jourdain chasing excitement over a finish).
Rated as a sharp, technically sound striker whose leg kicks stand out, moving up from his usual weight class for this fight -- a factor the analyst flags as a real risk. Credited with the ability to absorb a knockdown and still adapt and win as the rounds go on. Picked narrowly in a fight expected to be close and exciting.
Striking trend
Fight history
L Pavel Andrusca 0-0 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse · September 5, 2026
W Losene Keita 16-1 walk-in Decision - Split · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy · March 21, 2026
W Jose Delgado 2-0 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 321: Aspinall vs. Gane · October 25, 2025
W Morgan Charriere 2-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady · March 22, 2025
W Daniel Pineda 28-15 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 · July 27, 2024
L Muhammad Naimov 9-2 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 · October 21, 2023
W Andre Fili 22-9 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura · July 22, 2023
W Charles Jourdain 13-5-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa · September 3, 2022
W Charles Rosa 14-7 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall · July 23, 2022
L Casey Kenney 15-2-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje · October 24, 2020
W John Castaneda 15-4 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till · July 25, 2020
L John Dodson 20-11 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 0:16 — UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Blachowicz · February 15, 2020
W Jose Quinonez 8-2 walk-in Submission · R2 2:46 — UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal · March 16, 2019
W Andre Ewell 14-4 walk-in Submission · R3 4:12 — UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 · December 29, 2018
W Johnny Eduardo 21-11 walk-in Submission · R2 2:18 — UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes · June 1, 2018
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
Losses by method
Fights by organization
Full career — 29 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Losene Keita | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy
March 21, 2026 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Jose Miguel Delgado | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 321
October 25, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Morgan Charrière | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady
March 22, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Daniel Pineda | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 304
July 27, 2024 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Muhammad Naimov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 294
October 21, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Andre Fili | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura
July 22, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Charles Jourdain | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa
September 3, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Charles Rosa | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall
July 23, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Casey Kenney | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 254
October 24, 2020 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | John Castañeda | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till
July 26, 2020 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | John Dodson | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2
February 15, 2020 |
UFC | 3 | 0:16 |
| W | José Alberto Quiñónez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal
March 16, 2019 |
UFC | 2 | 2:46 |
| W | Andre Ewell | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 232
December 29, 2018 |
UFC | 3 | 4:12 |
| W | Johnny Eduardo | Submission (brabo choke) | UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes
June 1, 2018 |
UFC | 2 | 2:18 |
| W | Luca Iovine | KO (punch) | Cage Warriors 92
March 24, 2018 |
Cage Warriors | 1 | 0:50 |
| W | Josh Reed | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 86
September 17, 2017 |
Cage Warriors | 1 | 2:19 |
| W | Marko Kovacevic | KO (punches) | Cage Warriors 84
June 2, 2017 |
Cage Warriors | 1 | 3:41 |
| W | Vaughan Lee | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 82
April 1, 2017 |
Cage Warriors | 2 | 4:22 |
| W | Chase Morton | Submission (rear naked choke) | Bellator 158
July 16, 2016 |
Bellator | 2 | 0:48 |
| L | Alan Philpott | TKO (doctor stoppage) | BAMMA 24
February 26, 2016 |
BAMMA | 3 | 3:40 |
| W | Bryan Creighton | Decision (unanimous) | BAMMA 23
November 14, 2015 |
BAMMA | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Thiago Aguiar | Decision (unanimous) | Phoenix Fight Night 27
September 12, 2015 |
Phoenix Fight Night | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Mike Cutting | Submission (armbar) | BAMMA 18
February 21, 2015 |
BAMMA | 1 | 3:26 |
| W | Steve McCombe | TKO (arm injury) | Cage Warriors 74
November 15, 2014 |
Cage Warriors | 1 | 2:23 |
| W | Alexander Bilobrovka | TKO (punches) | Ultimate Challenge MMA 39
May 3, 2014 |
Ultimate Challenge MMA | 1 | 0:34 |
| L | Ed Arthur | Submission (rear naked choke) | BAMMA 15
April 5, 2014 |
BAMMA | 3 | 1:48 |
| W | Abdullah Saleh | TKO (punches) | Ultimate Challenge MMA 38
February 1, 2014 |
Ultimate Challenge MMA | 1 | 0:22 |
| W | Grisha Adams | Submission (triangle choke) | Ultimate Challenge MMA 35
August 3, 2013 |
Ultimate Challenge MMA | 1 | 3:01 |
| W | Damo Weeden | TKO (punches) | Fusion FC: Reality Check
February 9, 2013 |
Fusion FC | 2 | 2:10 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Nathaniel Wood (fighter)) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Headshot of Nathaniel Wood by MMAnytt · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · cropped and resized