LONDON – Nathaniel Wood (16-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) picked up his third consecutive UFC win, dominating Jose Quinonez (7-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) en route to a second-round submission win.
The bantamweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC on ESPN+ 5 event at The O2 in London. It streamed on ESPN+.
Quinonez opened with kicks to the leg, but Wood was ready, answering with punches over the top. Undaunted, Quinonez grabbed hold of the body and muscled his opponent to the floor. Wood answered perfectly, sweeping to top and then moving back to the standing position. Quinonez again chopped at the legs on the restart, while Wood showed great movement as he sought out a home for the left hand. When one sent Quinonez to the floor, Wood jumped on top and tried locking up a D’Arce choke. Quinonez battled through a few tense moments before returning to the feet. Wood continued to show the better striking, though he ended the round with a takedown.
Wood pressed forward in the second, as Quinonez tried to retreat and strike. A brief clinch proved to be a stalemate, so the two resumed at range. Quinonez tried to push inside and take the fight to the floor, but it backfired, with Wood reversing course and taking the action down before sliding to the back and locking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke at the 2:46 mark of the frame.
“Fighting here in London definitely gave me an advantage in the lead-up to the fight because all I wanted to do was impress the fans here,” Wood said after the win. “Yes, of course I am here to win, but the fans here were my motivation. If it wasn’t for this London card, I probably wouldn’t have fought for a little while as I had just fought. This London card meant everything to me, and I delivered. Honestly, I love the fans here.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 5 results include:
- Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Quinonez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:46
- Claudio Silva def. Danny Roberts via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 3, 3:37
- Jack Marshman def. John Phillips via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Arnold Allen def. Jordan Rinaldi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
- Marc Diakiese def. Joe Duffy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Saparbek Safarov def. Nico Negumereanu via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-27)
- Dan Ige def. Danny Henry via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:17
- Molly McCann def. Priscila Cachoeira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-
- Mike Grundy def. Nad Narimani via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:42
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 5, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
