How family and therapy help British UFC fighter with 'waves' of OCD

The first thing Nathaniel Wood mentions when he sits down for his interview is his two daughters.

Wood beams when he reveals that Arla, aged one, and Layla, who is just over two months old, have joined him in Abu Dhabi.

The 32-year-old Londoner has brought his family, including his wife, mum and dad, over for his fight against Jose Delgado at UFC 321.

For Wood, having his family with him is vital for getting in the right head space before a fight because things have gone wrong previously without them.

"If I'm not with them, I'm thinking about home. I'm looking at my phone every two seconds wondering what's going on," Wood tells BBC Sport.

"Having them here means that I can focus on the job at hand. I'm so much more relaxed."

With his family nearby, Wood is at ease, offering a smile as he shakes hands before answering BBC Sport's questions with conviction.

But it has not always been like this for him in Abu Dhabi.

Last time Wood was here, before the birth of his daughters in 2023, he was beaten by Muhammad Naimov following struggles with his mental health.

Wood has anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours., external

"It comes in waves. Sometimes you can be absolutely fine and then you could have what I call a 'dark cloud day' where you're just anxious and obsess over things," says Wood.

"Unfortunately my time came on fight week. As I flew out, I was suffering with really bad anxiety.

"When I have OCD, it doesn't let me move on. So the whole week I didn't care about the fight. I was just thinking about stuff I didn't need to be thinking about and obsessing over it.

"It's very consuming. It's like every second of that day you're thinking about that thought, nothing else. I could be talking to you right now and I'm thinking about something else."

Wood says a "number of factors" contributed to defeat by Naimov, but he didn't perform the way he wanted to because of his OCD.

He says his obsessive thoughts can cover a range of topics, but lists health issues as a "prime example".

"I could have a slight headache and I'm thinking 'I've got a brain bleed, or brain cancer' and I can't let the thought go," says Wood.

"And then it causes you to be anxious and then it causes more ruminating. It's a living nightmare when you're in that room."

Wood says he has sought help from therapists for OCD and is on medication for it, before encouraging people to not "ever be afraid to go to the doctors" if they think they have the condition.

"I'm very fortunate that I have good family. My dad, my mum, my wife - I have people that I can talk to. Whereas for those out there that don't, I imagine that's a very dark place to be," he says.

"Me personally, I find when I speak my worries out, you realise you can calm down a little bit. It's not as bad as you think in your head.

"You can be playing your own nightmares and believing they're real.

"I would definitely say see a therapist for professional help because there's different tactics that you can do."

After the interview, Wood is taking his family to the local mall for dinner, before joking that he won't be eating much because of his weight cut for the featherweight (10st 5lb) bout with Delgado.

American fighter Delgado is a rising prospect, with just one defeat in 11 fights.

Wood is the underdog but is on an impressive streak with just one loss in his past eight bouts.

Having his family nearby keeps Wood's mind on the task at hand - beating Delgado.

"I definitely find talking to someone helps and being busy. When I'm occupied and I've got things that I'm naturally thinking about, it doesn't allow my mind to spiral like the worst times when I've got nothing to do," says Wood.

"This is my fourth fight in Abu Dhabi. I've won one, lost two.

"Obviously I'm going in there with full intentions of winning this fight as best and as impressively as I can."