Fans are unhappy with the UFC after their matchmaking for Nathaniel Wood’s upcoming fight.
After several years of fighting at bantamweight, the Brit made the move up to 145lbs in 2022 in an attempt to finally get some recognition from the promotion.
Since then, ‘The Last Kingsman’ has won seven of his eight fights, continuing to showcase his potential as a future contender.
But after beating highly touted former double champion Losene Keita at UFC London earlier this year, Nathaniel Wood has once again been matched up with an unranked opponent for UFC Paris.
Fans criticize Nathaniel Wood vs Mairon Santos matchup
Ahead of his clash against Keita, Wood stated that he feels hard done by having not been given a ranked opponent yet.
And that is seemingly a sentiment fans agree with, as it was recently announced that the 32-year-old will fight 17-1 contender, Mairon Santos, at UFC Paris in September.
Santos is on an impressive four fight win streak since earning a contract by winning The Ultimate Fighter season 32 featherweight tournament.
“UFC hates (Wood), he’s like (11-3) or something,” one fan reacted to the matchup.
“Wood getting a fight up the rankings challenge: Impossible. He easily (wins by decision) against this can, waste of time,” another fan said.
“What does Nathaniel Wood have to do to get a ranked fight? I can’t think of any other fighter the UFC just refuse to push like this,” a third fan said.
Wood’s compatriot, Michael ‘Venom’ Page is currently going through the same issues, and he recently criticized the UFC again for their matchmaking as of late.
The similarity between both fighters is that the majority of the time, their fights go to a decision, which is something the UFC may not be fans of.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
“He doesn’t have a large following and UFC doesn’t think he’s top 15 material yet. He’s a great fighter but I think he needs more conviction. He needs to start finishing fights He hasn’t scored a single finish in 7 years,” one fan defended the UFC over the matchup.
“Why isn’t Wood fighting someone in the rankings? He is set to be a gatekeeper to the rankings despite winning 7 of his last 8 and the loss being from Naimov who cheated throughout,” another fan commented.
2026-07-21 15:00:00
