NATHANIEL WOOD HAS established himself as one of the most promising mixed martial arts prospects in Europe, but his reign as Cage Warriors’ bantamweight champion came very close to faltering at the first hurdle over the weekend.
In his hometown of London, Wood (14-3) put his belt on the line against previously undefeated Welshman Josh Reed (7-1) in the main event at Cage Warriors 86.
The pair produced two minutes and 19 seconds of the most frantic yet entertaining action you’re likely to see on any stage, before Wood eventually snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The fight was the talk of the MMA world afterwards.
All in all, an interesting night of fights. I have to say though, @CageWarriors 86 was wild. The main event between Reed and Wood was 👌🏼
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) September 17, 2017
Between BAMMA yesterday and CW today, it's been a very exciting 24 hours for Euro MMA. (Wild sequence below.) https://t.co/TCh83TrHW5
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 16, 2017
Wood is one of my favourite fighters these days. What a warrior! Props to both fighters. Goddard showing again why he's the best ref around. https://t.co/PnZ1hU5iFl
— Cathal Pendred (@Pendred) September 16, 2017
Reed brought the fight to Wood from the outset and appeared to be within seconds of forcing referee Marc Goddard to intervene and crown a new champion.
However, Wood somehow managed to hang in there and eventually turned the tide in his favour by landing a left hook as he was backed up against the fence.
With the Englishman unloading a flurry of clean strikes, Goddard stepped in to bring an end to an absolutely captivating contest. The elated reaction of Wood’s cornerman, former UFC bantamweight Brad Pickett, sums it up.
https://www.facebook.com/112090072144502/videos/1665076096845884/
Elsewhere on Saturday night at Cage Warriors 86, Irish lightweight Joe McColgan picked up a big win by earning a split decision at the expense of Sean Carter.
There was disappointment for Eric Nolan and Darren O’Gorman, who suffered respective defeats to Mehdi Saadi (first-round submission) and Brian Bouland (second-round KO).
Whatever about losing at home to the reigning European champions the performance last weekend was abysmal and surely must go down as the worst of the season. Edinburgh away will be tough as hell as they fighting for playoff and Heineken place. Ulster need a top performance to win that one.
@Ro Molloy: They’ll know what they have to do before kickoff as the Ospreys v Scarlets game will be over by then. If Scarlets don’t win they won’t be able to catch Ulster for a top 8 position so Ulster will be in the Heineken next year.
@TL55: that’s incorrect TL55. One of the eight positions in next year’s HEC is ringfenced for a Welsh team so Scarlets (or Ospreys if they past Scarlets) are confirmed. Ulster have to remain in 7th or better to qualify for next year’s HEC.
Big opportunity to get back on the horse.