A British MMA fighter from Morden got a nasty black eye for his troubles during his UFC debut win in New York.
Nathaniel ‘The Prospect’ Wood escaped with some scars in his fight against Brazil’s Jonny Eduardo at UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs Moraes on June 1.
But the 24-year-old bantamweight division fighter was all smiles with his opponent afterwards, posting tweets on social media.
In a post on June 2, he said: “It ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It feels good to be here!”
It ain’t all sunshine and rainbows 🌈 @ufc @UFCEurope it feels good to be here !! 😁 pic.twitter.com/JwUZm69BA8
— Nathaniel wood (@TheProspectMMA) June 2, 2018
Wood defeated Eduardo during the second of three rounds in the fight with a D’Arce choke manoeuvre as there were two minutes and 43 seconds remaining.
He fought in the preliminary rounds of the event as it was being held in Utica, a city in the state of New York.
It’s his 14th win from 17 after he won his fight before last in a title defence against Italian fighter Luca Iovine at Cage Warriors 92 in March.
In another post, also on June 2, he said: “It was an absolute honour to share the octagon [the ring] with you last night @JohnnyEduardoN.
“Wish you all the best.”
It was an absolute honour to share the octagon with you last night @JohnnyEduardoN. Wish you all the best 🙌 pic.twitter.com/CymmsveXza
— Nathaniel wood (@TheProspectMMA) June 2, 2018
Before the fight, Wood said it was ‘amazing’ to be called up to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after ‘working hard’ for nine years.
He gave credit to his coach Brad ‘One Punch’ Picket, who is also from Morden, and home support.
Wood said: “My coach Brad Pickett is my UFC idol. He is a fighter. A lot of UFC fighters are athletes, a lot of them come in to win by points. I’m a fighter first and Brad is the same as me.”
“It feels good to be in the same spot as Brad Pickett, I’m representing the team and leading the way now. Hopefully more of them can follow in my footsteps.”
“I feel like I’ve got an army of supporters at home. It’s good to have that momentum and level of support backing me.”
Welcome to the UFC, @TheProspectMMA! #UFCUtica pic.twitter.com/OCPhr213bW
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 2, 2018
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