Nathaniel Wood vs. Umar Nurmagomedov on tap for July 25 UFC event on ‘Fight Island’

An exciting bantamweight fight is heading to “Fight Island” next month.

A person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Nathaniel Wood will take on promotional debutante Umar Nurmagomedov at the UFC’s event on July 25. The fight card will take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

The bout was initially revealed on the Mo Hosani 360 podcast featuring Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.

After finishing his first three UFC fights, Wood had his eight-fight winning streak snapped in February by John Dodson at UFC Rio Rancho via TKO in the third round. “The Prospect,” a former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion, holds octagon submission wins over Johnny Eduardo, Andre Ewell and Jose Quinones.

Nurmagomedov, the cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has won all 12 of his professional fights as he prepares for his promotional debut. He was originally scheduled to face Hunter Azure on the April 18 iteration of UFC 249 before the event was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The 24-year-old is coming off a first-round submission win in November, capturing the Gorilla Fighting bantamweight title.

The UFC’s July 25 event will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.