After missing out on March’s London event after his opponent pulled out at last notice, Nathaniel Wood will finally get his long overdue homecoming this Saturday. London’s own ‘The Prospect’ Nathaniel Wood will return to the octagon after nearly two years out, ready to showcase a new and improved version of the fighter that we last saw at UFC 254.
After losing a close decision to Casey Kenney in his last fight at bantamweight for the time being, Saturday will also mark a move up in weight divisions for Wood. Weighing in at 145 pounds for the first time, Wood’s move up came as a surprise to many but was hard to deny after he posted a photo on social media of his last weight cut.
Standing across the cage from the home fighter will be a man who has been in the UFC since 2014, Boston’s Charles Rosa. Coming into the fight off of back-to-back decision losses, Rosa has shared the octagon with some of the division’s elite. The likes of Yair Rodriguez, Shane Burgos and Bryce Mitchell have all been victorious against Rosa in the past and Nathaniel Wood will be looking to build some serious momentum on his featherweight debut by adding himself to that list.
Whilst the reception Wood will get when he walks to the cage will undoubtedly be one of the moments of the night, after three cancelled fights in a row, getting some time in the octagon will signify the next step of his career. A win over Charles Rosa, who has been operating in this division for 12 fights now, will reignite the excitement around ‘The Prospect’. A loss however, could raise serious question marks around his move up a weight class after his success at bantamweight.
