UFC Utica results: Nathaniel Wood submits Johnny Eduardo in second round

London’s Nathaniel Wood brought plenty of hype into his UFC debut.

And on Friday night, he delivered on his advance billing. The bantamweight nicknamed “The Prospect” shook off a slow first round and then finished veteran Johnny Eduardo in the second. The UFC Utica bout was waved off at the 2:18 mark of the second round via D’Arce choke.

Eduardo took it to Wood in the opening round, landing clean and crisp combos and never letting Wood find his rhythm.

But Eduardo made a fatal error when he went for a takedown in the second. Wood defended the attempt and the quickly moved into position to land the winning choke.

“Johnny’s a veteran of boxing I knew this would be my toughest fight to date,” Wood said. “I felt the pressure of debuting in the UFC but I was confident. I caught him a couple times, I sensed it, I knew that was it. People say I haven’t got a ground game but that’s what happens when you take me down.”

Wood improved to 14-3 with his third career submission win. He’s won six in a row, all inside of two rounds. Eduardo (28-12) has dropped two straight and three of four.