UFC 304 featherweight Nathaniel Wood, who faces Daniel Pineda in Manchester, England this Saturday, isn’t bothered by fighting into the wee hours of the morning to accommodate U.S. fight fans.
After all, he explained to media outlets including Cageside Press on Wednesday, the adrenaline should carry him through, no different than if he learned someone was stealing his car in the middle of the night.
That leaves Wood focused on opponent Daniel Pineda, who he was familiar with in an indirect way.
“I’ve seen the name only because he fought previous opponents that I’ve had. So I’ve looked at his fights when studying other opponents,” stated Wood. “As you say, he’s been in the game for a very long time. He’s very experienced. I think he fought Mike Brown back in UFC 1-3-something. A long time ago. Obviously, I put respect on his name. He’s been in the game a very long time. Good match-up. Comes to fight, and I look forward to fighting him Saturday night.”
Pineda did fight Mike Brown, back at UFC 146 in 2012, so Wood wasn’t far off. What Daniel Pineda has not done is won a fight via decision. He’s lost six of those, but has finished in all of his victories. Wood recognizes his opponent as tough, but sees another angle in that stat.
“Obviously he’s tough as old boots. He’s a veteran, he’s obviously a fighter. I know that I’m going to need to put him out to finish him. I expect him to be very durable.” That said, Wood noted that Pineda seems to gas a fair bit in his fights. “If he can’t get the stoppage straight away, he maybe deteriorates in the fight. I’m confident with my skill set that I’m going to go in there and do the job. Just need to put my money where my mouth is.”
Watch the full UFC 304 media day appearance by Nathaniel Wood above.
