Nathaniel Wood's UFC Treatment Explained
The treatment of Nathaniel Wood by the UFC is certainly questionable, however, a reason as to why he's treated poorly has recently come to light.
Nathaniel Wood's treatedment since joining the UFC has been nothing short of poor. He's a well regarded, well rounded, likeable, marketable and extremely talented. So why is it that he is constantly matched with up and coming guys and more often than not, treated as a gatekeeper to a rankings spot, despite only recently recieving a ranking next to his name himself?
On this week's 'Fight Disciples' podcast, hosted by Nick Peet and Adam Catteral, two respected names in the industry and two men who work for BT Sport alluded to a key reason as to why Nathaniel Wood hasn't been given the opportunities he arguably deserves.
Nathaniel Wood's Mistreatment - Explained
Adam Catterall stated that he had spoken to Nathaniel Wood in the build up to his UFC Paris loss this past weekend. Wood revealed that he doesn't have an American visa, meaning that he is limited to fighting in Europe and on the Abu Dhabi cards.
Wood hasn't competed in the US February 2020 when he lost to John Dodson via TKO in the three. Since then, he's had a total of 11 fights, of which none have been in the US.
Why Wood doesn't have an American visa isn't clear, however, if he is to be given more favourable match-ups, gaining an American visa would help him a long way.
Moving Forwards
Moving forwards, Wood isn't in a strong position. He's just suffered a loss to a UFC debutant who took the fight on short notice.
He's fallen out of the rankings and been replaced with his UFC Paris foe Pavel Andrusca. The Last Kingsman will more than likely have to fight outside of the rankings next to have a chance at gianing back his rankings spot.
Getting an American visa is going to go a long way in helping his cause. He would have made much more sense as an opponent for Jean Silva for this weekend's UFC Noche main event. The man who is filling in for the injured Yair Rodriguez, Jose Delgado, has a loss to Nathaniel Wood in 2025. A Wood vs Silva fight would have made a lot more sense, however, due to the lack of an American visa, he wasn't considered.
