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Tag: nathaniel wood

  • ‘Unbelievably Cold’ – Fans React As Another UFC Star Changes His Nickname After Ilia Topuria

    ‘Unbelievably Cold’ – Fans React As Another UFC Star Changes His Nickname After Ilia Topuria

    It seems like the UFC is going through a moniker-changing season.

    Last month, Ilia Topuria announced that he would be abandoning his longtime moniker, “El Matador,” in favor of “La Leyenda.” The shift comes as Topuria vacated his UFC featherweight title to pursue a new challenge in the lightweight division, as he sets his sights on becoming a two-division champion.

    However, the undefeated Spaniard isn’t the only UFC fighter to recently undergo a rebrand, as featherweight contender Nathaniel Wood has also opted for a fresh stage name.

    Following his dominant unanimous decision victory over Morgan Charrière at UFC London last month, Wood revealed that he’s retiring the nickname “The Prospect,” stating that he’s no longer an up-and-comer, but a bona fide contender.

    On Friday, the 31-year-old Brit took to social media to unveil his new identity for the final stretch of his career, revealing that he will now go by “The Last Kingsman,” a moniker seemingly inspired by the popular Kingsman film franchise.

    “16 years in this game, ‘The Prospect’ served me well. Time for a new chapter for the last few years of my career,” Wood wrote on X.

    Fans largely responded positively to Wood’s new nickname, with many praising the creativity behind the unique rebrand.

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    “The Last Kingsman” has been part of the UFC roster since June 2018, but has struggled to generate sustained momentum, never surpassing a three-fight win streak.

    Over that stretch, he’s compiled a respectable 9-3 record, with three of those victories coming by way of knockout.

  • Unranked UFC Fighter Debunks MMA Math: ‘I Can Beat Anyone In The Top 10’

    Unranked UFC Fighter Debunks MMA Math: ‘I Can Beat Anyone In The Top 10’

    It has been proven time and time again that MMA math doesn’t work. Every fight is different and the sport is at its very best when it is unpredictable rather than it being a constantly looping pattern where you can see the results coming from a mile away.

    Alexander Volkanovski may have beaten Max Holloway on three separate occasions but that doesn’t mean that he would put on the same kind of emphatic performance that “Blessed” produced against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 last April just because he has Holloway’s number. Unfortunately for anyone that has ever missed out on a huge bet coming in, it simply doesn’t work that way in this sport, as was stressed by a member of the UFC roster in a recent social media post.

    England’s Nathaniel Wood has had a good UFC career thus far since debuting back in 2018, having 8-3 inside the Octagon across both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. The 31-year old currently coming off of a win over Daniel Pineda at UFC 304 in Manchester with his only losses in the promotion coming to Muhammad Naimov, Casey Kenny and John Dodson.

    “The Prospect” made the point that in the UFC, anyone can beat anyone on the night. In a statement that looked to highlight his own potential, Wood stated that with the tools that he has at his disposal, if he performs as he should, he can go all the way in this sport if things fall into place for him.

    “MMA math doesn’t exist , anyone in the UFC is dangerous, I can beat anyone in the top 10 and could also lose to anyone. With my skill set I just need the opportunity and my A game on the night.”

  • UFC Featherweight Brands Ilia Topuria ‘Better’ Than Max Holloway, Touts Spaniard As Closest To Jon Jones In P4P Debate

    UFC Featherweight Brands Ilia Topuria ‘Better’ Than Max Holloway, Touts Spaniard As Closest To Jon Jones In P4P Debate

    One of the most anticipated fights of the year is sure to be what many expect as the next UFC featherweight title fixture.

    For many years, Max Holloway has been considered to be the second-best 145-pound fighter on the planet as he wasn’t able to solve the problem that is Alexander Volkanovski.

    With new champion Ilia Topuria steamrolling his way up the featherweight ladder and taking Volkanovski out in February, his first title defense against “Blessed” is one of the best match-ups in MMA today.

    A current featherweight contender believes that in giving Topuria the edge in this fight, he isn’t just better than Holloway, he’s one of the top two in the world today.

    Nathaniel Wood Says Ilia Topuria Is In The Pound-For-Pound Conversation On Skill Alone

    In a recent interview with InsideFighting, London’s Nathaniel Wood spoke about the title fight that is set to go down in his division.

    “The Prospect” is set to return at UFC 304 where he takes on Daniel Pineda after going 3-1 since making the move up from bantamweight.

    He believes that whilst Holloway may have the best chance of anyone else in the mix, “El Matador” is the more skilled fighter overall.

    “See, I see Ilia Topuria as one of the pound-for-pound best at the moment. I think he’s better than Max but I feel like Max could cause him problems with his style and Max is obviously as tough as they come. I do think out of that top 10, if anyone was to beat Topuria, I’d put it on Max Holloway.”

    Elaborating on his high praise for Topuria, Wood put this in context regarding the debate at the top of the pound-for-pound ladder.

    He believes that whilst the current featherweight champion doesn’t have the accolades just yet, his talent and performances prove that he belongs just below the greatest of all time, Jon Jones.

    “Gotta be Jon Jones, I don’t see how anyone can ever go against him, obviously if you’re going off of the CV. Now, Ilia Topuria, I think pound-for-pound one of the best just the way he moves. I think if you look at him on the CV, okay he’s obviously just become the champion. Okay, how can you say he’s the pound-for-pound but you just know when someone’s special and me personally, I think he is.

    “I’ve said before I think he’d be the hardest fight for me in the division when he wasn’t even ranked I think in the top 10, because you can just see when someone’s got that something. Obviously, Alex Pereira, he’s just that knockout machine, you know what I mean but skill set wise, I think Topuria’s a better fighter, better athlete all round.”

    Read also: Paddy Pimblett: ‘Fickle’ MMA Fans Will Be Back On My Side After I Knock Bobby Green Out At UFC 304