“I want my own bed,” Wood said. “It sounds cheesy, but I wanna be in bed with my wife; I don’t want some hotel where I don’t like the pillow… I want to wake up, give my girls a kiss when I go out, walk the dog; do normal things.”
Familiar surroundings have contributed to his routine success in London, but comfort has also been the key to his run of good form since relocating to the featherweight division as well.
Wood went 12-3 on the regional scene before earning a call to the UFC, winning and successfully defending the Cage Warriors bantamweight title in his last three bouts prior to stepping into the Octagon for the first time. He won each of his first three appearances under the UFC banner, establishing himself as a rising star in the 135-pound ranks, but injuries and the rigors of making the bantamweight limit made it difficult for him to compete as frequently as he wanted.
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After a lengthy stint on the sidelines, Wood returned to action — in London — in the summer of 2022 at featherweight, registering a unanimous decision win over Charles Rosa. Since then, he’s added five wins over his next six starts, including three straight heading into this weekend’s important pairing with Keita.
“Going back to what we just said, its comfort — I’m not dying to make weight anymore,” Wood said. “Don’t get me wrong: right now, I’m cutting weight. Right now, it sucks, and it’s uncomfortable, and I’ve still got to lose a significant amount of water weight, but my whole fight camp has been comfortable. I’m able to replenish, I’m able to train like an athlete is supposed to… Every fight I had at bantamweight, you didn’t need to tell me who I’m fighting. All I’ve got in my head is that I need to make weight, and then once I’ve made weight, it’s ‘Okay, we’ve got a fight tomorrow.’ Now, I’m training for a fight, and then two weeks out from the fight, it’s ‘let’s start cutting down on the calories now’ and suffering a little bit. But two weeks of suffering over eight weeks, 10 weeks?”
He paused and smirked.
