MMA Knockout

Hometown favorite scores early knockdown, sweeps scorecards at UFC Fight Night London

"The Prospect" earned arguably the biggest win of his career at UFC London.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

The main card for UFC London kicked off with a highly-anticipated featherweight contest between Nathaniel Wood and Morgan Charrière.

A former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion, Wood made the move up to featherweight in 2022 and came into UFC London after taking a unanimous decision over Daniel Pineda in his only outing of 2024.

Charrière also claimed Cage Warriors gold in 2020, and in three UFC appearances starting with his 2023 debut "The Last Pirate" claimed three post-fight bonuses.

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Nathaniel Wood and Morgan Charrière.
Nathaniel Wood and Morgan Charrière. / (Per Haljestam/MMA Junkie)

Wood Drops Charrière Early, Puts On Dominant Striking Display

The two featherweights were happy to spend the opening minute exchanging kicks at range, but a perfectly-timed right hand from Wood dropped Charrière and quickly changed the dynamic of the fight.

The London crowd cheered on the hometown fighter in his pursuit of a finish, but Charrière recovered well and managed to fight off a guillotine attempt after getting into top position. "The Last Pirate" was able to stay on top for the remainder of the opening round, but it was Wood who landed a number of elbows and continued hunting for submission attempts.

Things got off to a faster start in the second round as both men started to string punching combinations together, and while Wood appeared to have the clear speed advantage Charrière did land some significant shots of his own while also trying to mix in some grappling.

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Wood took control of the center of the cage to start the final frame, although the commentary team did note that the 31-year-old's output had dropped a bit compared to the first two rounds. Charrière pressed his opponent to the fence with a big flurry just before the bell, but it wasn't enough to avoid losing a unanimous decision to the hometown fighter.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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