Wood vs Naimov

Who won Wood vs Naimov?

Muhammadjon Naimov beat Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC 294, on Saturday 21st October 2023 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Muhammadjon Naimov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Wood vs Naimov stats

Nathaniel Wood stepped into the octagon with a record of 19 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Muhammadjon Naimov made his way to the cage with a record of 9 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Nathaniel Wood's 12th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Muhammadjon Naimov marked his 5th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Nathaniel Wood's UFC record stood at 9-3-0, while Muhammadjon Naimov's came in at 4-1-0.

The stats suggested Naimov had an advantage in power over Wood, with a 56% knock out percentage over Wood's 42%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Wood had a slight advantage over Naimov, with a 26% submission rate over Naimov's 22%.

Nathaniel Wood was the older man by 1 year, at 31 years old.

Naimov had a height advantage of 3 inches over Wood. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Wood was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 13 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 6 years and 8 months earlier than Naimov, whose first professional fight was in 2018. He had fought 27 more professional rounds, 61 to Naimov's 34.

Wood vs Naimov form

Wood had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 opponent and going to the judges 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Andre Fili at UFC Fight Night London – Aspinall vs. Tybura on 22nd July 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had beaten Charles Jourdain at UFC Fight Night Paris on 3rd September 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Charles Rosa at UFC Fight Night London on 23rd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The O2, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he was victorious against Jose Alberto Qui onez at UFC on ESPN+ 5 on 16th March 2019 by submission in the 2nd round at 02 Arena, London.

He had won against Luca Iovine at Cage Warriors 92 on 24th March 2018 by knockout in the 1st round in their championship fight at 02 Indigo, London, England.

Activity check

Wood's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 1 month and 9 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 5 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Wood vs Naimov?

Nathaniel Wood was a 7/25 (-360) favourite going into the contest, while Muhammadjon Naimov made his way into the ring at 11/4 (+280) with oddsmakers.