Nathaniel Wood likes future Patricio ‘Pitbull’ fight after UFC London

Nathaniel Wood met the media Saturday after his win over Losene Keita at UFC Fight Night 270.

Wood (23-6 MMA, 11-3 UFC) got a stiff test from Keita (16-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who was making his UFC debut, on the prelims at The O2 in London. But the Brit walked away with a split call in front of his home fans.

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But don’t let the scorecards be a fooler: Wood has no doubt he won the fight.

“Does it sound arrogant if I say that it was a lot easier than I expected? When he hit me, I was fine. There were no shots that really wobbled me or hurt me. I felt like he caught me on the back of the head a couple of times. But I thought it was going to be a bit more of a dogfight. I thought he would be quicker than he was. I thought it was going to be a bit tougher.”

But Wood may have had something to do with the matchup being less of the dogfight he expected. His game plan, he said, was to make sure such a scenario didn’t leave him vulnerable to a knockout.

Hence, the fans at The O2 got 15 minutes of slightly safer Wood than they might otherwise be accustomed to.

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“There’s a lot of fights where I can be a little hasty, kind of pushing for that bonus, the entertainment side of things,” Wood said. “This one, (the coaches) said, ‘Don’t underestimate your opponent. … Keep your hands up. Keep doing what you’re doing.’ Unfortunately for the crowd, that means I’m going to take a decision win. But so be it: I get the win and come out healthy.”

Wood said he’d like a shot at former Bellator two-division champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who just was matched up against fellow former Bellator standout Aaron Pico. But even if he has to wait, Wood seems to like that matchup down the road.

Check out Wood’s post-fight interview in the video below.