UFC featherweight Nathaniel Wood has accused his UFC 294 opponent, Muhammad Naimov, of cheating throughout their three-round matchup.
Wood’s featherweight win streak came to an end against Naimov on the UFC 294 prelims. Naimov used his wrestling to stifle Wood’s advances and control the pace of the fight.
During the fight, Wood attempted to make his case to the referee that Naimov was attempting to gain an unfair advantage. While he motioned multiple times to Naimov allegedly interfering with his grip, Naimov wasn’t penalized and no stoppage occurred.
Wood wants the world to know that there should be an asterisk next to his recorded loss to Naimov.
Related: Dana White Rips ‘Inexperienced’ UFC 294 Doctor Who Controversially Stopped Johnny Walker
Nathaniel Wood Accuses Muhammad Naimov Of ‘Blatant Cheating’
In a recent tweet, Wood expressed his frustration with his UFC 294 fight and accused Naimov of unethical acts.
Now seeing the fight back myself I can’t help but feel super frustrated with blatant cheating, his left hands is literally grabbing the inside of my glove in the most important 10 seconds left of the fight! 2 clean groin shots, fence grabbing and then this 😡 pic.twitter.com/Pe5T9g5Z8Q
— Nathaniel Wood (@TheProspectMMA) October 23, 2023
“Now seeing the fight back myself I can’t help but feel super frustrated with blatant cheating,” Wood opined. “His left hands is literally grabbing the inside of my glove in the most important 10 seconds left of the fight! 2 clean groin shots, fence grabbing and then this.”
As of this writing, Naimov hasn’t responded to Wood’s allegations. He entered UFC 294 with a post-weigh-in illness he suffered from up until hours before the event.
Wood’s frustrations also stem from the conclusion of a three-fight win streak leading up to UFC 294. After an up-and-down run at bantamweight, his full-time move to featherweight has paid off with consecutive wins over Andre Fili, Charles Jourdain, and Charles Rosa.
It’s uncertain if Wood intends to appeal the loss to Naimov amidst his allegations, although he sounds like someone who doesn’t feel he rightfully lost on Saturday night.
https://www.mmanews.com/news/nathaniel-wood-blatant-cheating-ufc-294-loss
