The O2 Arena is the one of the most iconic venues in the UK and is the home of the UFC when they come to visit every year. However, there are other MMA organisations who also use the O2 Arena in their events such as Cage Warriors.
Born in London, Nathaniel Wood never disappoints when he performs at the O2. He is currently 3-0 in the UFC with his latest win there. However this fight was not the first fight for Wood in the O2 Arena.
He has previously fought in a smaller venue which is located in the O2 called the Indigo. It was here where MMA fans saw Wood rise from a prospect to a superstar.
First title win
Nathaniel Wood captured his first title in the iconic venue back in 2017 to capture the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight championship. At the time he was he was 10-3 and was on a two-fight winning streak.
He was able to knock out Marko Kovacevic in the first round who was on a eight-fight winning streak at the time. Some would say this was the start of Nathanial Wood’s historic career and put him up there as one of the highest prospects in the UK.
Greatest round in MMA UK history
Later in 2017, Wood would make his return to the Indigo when he was set to face off against then undefeated “Crazy Horse” Josh Reed. This was a big fight for fans as we saw two the UK’s hottest 135 pounders compete for the top belt in the country.
The fight was unofficially built as Wales vs England, with a lot of Welsh fans making the long trip to London to see this historic fight.
The fight was a war, with Reed being able to hurt the then defending champion with strikes. It seemed all over when the Welshman was able to put pressure to Wood while Wood’s back was against the fence.
However, Wood was able to hit a left hook which stunned “Crazy Horse” which would lead to Nathaniel Wood retaining his title by TKO.
Top MMA YouTube channel MMA On Point named it one of the greatest fights outside the Zuffa banner (company which owns Pride, UFC, Srikeforce and WEC).
Final title defence
The last time fans got the chance to see Wood in the Indigo was against Italian Bantamweight contender Luca Iovine.
The fight took place during the Cage Warriors 92 which was dubbed “Super Saturday” and advertised to have two main cards in one night. This was one of the most popular Cage Warriors shows at the time and fans were very excited to see the home-town hero defend his championship.
Wood was able to knock out Iovine within the first 50 seconds of the fight by spectacular knockout. After this win fans knew “The Prospect” was ready for the UFC.
Return to the O2
After winning his first two fights in the UFC, Wood set his mind on being on the annual UFC London card. Fans were very excited when they found out “The Prospect” will be making his return.
During the ceremonial weigh-ins, Wood received one of if not the best ovations from the crowd. The UK loves Nathaniel Wood and Wood loves the UK. He was booked to face off against José Alberto Quiñónez.
A participant of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America where he was coached by former UFC champion Cain Velasquez.
Quiñónez was on four fight winning streak. He was causing chaos in the Bantamweight division and seemed very hard to derail his momentum.
Fans were not disappointed with Wood’s performance, he had control throughout the whole fight and was able to win the fight by submission.
Nathaniel Wood has made the O2 Arena his new throne and hopefully one day fans will get to see him either fight for or defend the belt in the historic arena.