IT’S OFFICIAL – Nathaniel Wood Will Make His UFC Debut On June 1
Nathaniel Wood is now officially a UFC fighter.
Nine days ago, MMANytt reported that Wood (13-3) had signed for the UFC and would be making his debut at UFC Fight Night 131 on June 1 in Utica, New York. Shortly after our report, British journalist Chisanga Malata reported that Wood would face 28-year-old Johnny Eduardo (28-11), a man with six UFC bouts already under his belt.
These reports were confirmed last evening by the local Utica news outlet Observer Dispatch who also announced at the same time that Desmond Green would face Gleison Tibau in lightweight action.
Wood was the Cage Warriors bantamweight champion and successfully defended his title twice before getting the call up. The Brit was last in action back at Cage Warriors 92: “Super Saturday” when he knocked out Italian Luca Iovine in just 50-seconds in front of a rabid crowd at Indigo O2 Theatre. With five wins now in a row, “The Prospect” will look to continue his winning ways when he puts on the UFC 4-oz. gloves for the first time on June 1.
Beating Eduardo will be no easy task though. The Brazilian holds wins over Eddie Wineland, Jeff Curran and Manvel Gamburyan, but is currently coming off a loss to Matthew Lopez at UFC 212. Unlike Wood, Eduardo has already fought several times in America and has won three of his four bouts fighting in the United States.
The UFC Utica fight card now looks as follows:
Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Moraes
Gregor Gillespie vs. Vinc Pichel
Jake Ellenberger vs. Ben Saunders
Lauren Murphy vs. Sijara Eubanks
Walt Harris vs. Daniel Spitz
Jarred Brooks vs. Hector Sandoval
Gian Villante vs. Sam Alvey
Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel
Johnny Eduardo vs. Nathaniel Wood
Niko Price vs. Belal Muhammad
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Teymur
