Products You May Like
For Wood, who has faced a lifelong battle with OCD and anxiety, eliminating the taxing commute and the weight cut looks to have paid dividends in his performances, and it has also opened the door for him to have to find ways to cope with new struggles.
“If I’m honest with my mental health without doing the strict weight cuts, I almost worry about other stuff now,” he explained with a small, ironic chuckle. “I’ve got rid of one worry: getting on the scales. But now I’m just focusing on my opponent. So the whole camp, I’m now thinking about my opponent. What’s he doing? What’s he up to? How good is he? Let’s watch his last fights.”
Don’t Miss Any Upcoming UFC Events
Wood admittedly fell victim to these thought patterns while preparing to fight Charles Jourdain in Paris in September. In interviews following his victory, he alluded to “creating a monster” in his opponent leading up to the fight – thoughts that left his mind as soon as he stepped into the Octagon.
“As soon as I had him face to face in the Octagon, I was good. When I was facing him, I was like, I’ve got this in the bag. And I’d say after the first 20 seconds, once I felt his speed and power, I knew I had him.”