UFC featherweight Nathaniel Wood believes a number of his fellow fighters are overdoing their efforts to emulate Conor McGregor with brash attitudes.
The ex-Cage Warriors champion has been in the UFC for the last four years, and is looking to forge a new path for himself in the featherweight division after moving up from 135lb for his return to action earlier this year at UFC London. He has been frustrated watching fighters get promoted for, as he puts it, "being an a******"" and attempting to be like the Irishman.
Wood understands the needs for fighters to market themselves, but believes that it shouldn't come at the cost of being a good person and working hard. He wants to change the perception of MMA fighters, and feels that this trend is worrying and not helping their case.
“Too many UFC fighters try and copy Conor McGregor these days," he told GiveMeSport. "I don’t get why they can’t just be themselves. Don’t get me wrong you have to respect what he has done but it does do my head in a bit to be honest.
“I’m not sure if maybe people have been watching too much McGregor and thinking they have to trash talk but the amount of people I’m seeing now that are changing their personalities completely just to earn a few extra quid, you know, it’s not for me.”
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McGregor is currently out of action, and has been dropping in form over the last few years due to injuries. As such, the UFC have had to look elsewhere for stars, with some brash talkers like Colby Covington attempting to fill the void, much to Wood's annoyance.
“I tell you what does frustrate me is when people get promoted because they’re being an a*******. I won’t mention names. But there’s many people out there that are not themselves and they’re portraying a horrible kind of person and they’re getting praise for it. I don’t like that.
“But for me, I want the sport to have a good name. I’m an athlete and that’s why I want to change the perception of this sport. The amount of people I meet where they think 'he’s a cage fighter, he’s going to be this mean, hard-looking guy'. Look at me. I’m far from it. I mean, if I go down the pub, no one looks twice at me and thinks, yeah, that guy could knock me out."
