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Nathaniel Wood’s two daughters are the first thing that he mentions when he sits down for his interview.

Wood is delighted to learn that Layla and Arla, both one, have joined him in Abu Dhabi.

The 32-year-old Londoner has invited his family over to watch his UFC 321 fight with Jose Delgado, including his wife, mother, and father.

Because things have already gone wrong without them, Wood needs to have his family with him in order to get in the right headspace before a fight.

“I’m thinking about going home if I’m not with them.” Every two seconds, Wood tells BBC Sport, “I’m checking my phone to see what’s going on.”

They can concentrate on the task at hand because I have them here. I feel much more at ease.

Wood is at ease as he shakes hands with his family and responds to BBC Sport’s questions with conviction while having a friendly family nearby.

But for him in Abu Dhabi, things haven’t always been this way.

Before his daughters were born in 2023, Wood was the subject of Muhammad Naimov’s brutal assault after having a mental health issue.

Wood has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental illness that causes compulsive behavior and obsessive thoughts.

It “comes in waves.” You can be completely fine at times, but then you could experience a “dark cloud day” where you just become anxious and fixated on something, Wood says.

“Unfortunately, fight week was when I had a chance. I was having incredibly bad anxiety as I flew out.

OCD keeps telling me, “I can’t move on when I have it.” I didn’t care about the fight for the entire week. I was just obsessing over and thinking about things that I didn’t need to.

It consumes a lot of energy. You’re thinking about that thought every second of the day, not anything else. I might be talking to you right now, but I’m also considering other options.

He claims that his obnoxious thoughts can be related to a variety of subjects, but cites health issues as an “prime example.”

Wood says, “I could be having a slight headache and thinking, “I’ve got a brain bleed, or brain cancer,” and I can’t let the thought go.

“And then it makes you anxious, and then it makes you ruminate more.” When you’re in that room, you’re living a nightmare.

Before urging people to never “ever be afraid to go to the doctors” if they believe they have the disorder, Wood claims he has sought medical attention from therapists and is currently taking medication for it.

“I have a very good family, and I’m very fortunate. I have people to talk to, along with my wife, my mom, and my dad. I believe that’s a very dark place for those who don’t, he says.

Personally, I think you can get a little calm when I express my worries. Not as bad as you imagine.

You can pretend to have real nightmares while playing your own.

Wood jokes that he won’t be eating much because of the weight loss in his featherweight (11st 5lb) fight with Delgado after taking his family to the local mall for dinner.

With just one defeat in 11 fights, American fighter Delgado is a rising star.

Wood, who has lost just one of his previous eight matches, is the underdog.

Wood concentrates on defeating Delgado because his family is close by.

“I’ve heard that being busy and talking to someone help me.” When I’m occupied and have things in mind, my mind doesn’t go crazy like it does when I have nothing to do, says Wood.

“This is my fourth fight in Abu Dhabi,” I said. I lost two games and one win.

“I’m going into this fight with full intentions to win this fight as best and as impressively as I can,” I say.

Josko Gvardiol became the second-most expensive defender ever after moving to Manchester City from RB Leipzig for £77 million in August 2023.

However, the Croatian international, who is 23 years old, revealed that Dinamo Zagreb was close to ending his “dream” career in football.

The center-back told BBC Sport, “I was considering quitting because I enjoy basketball as well.”

Gvardiol considered options for a career in football after struggling to get game time for Zagreb’s youth team at the age of 16.

“I wasn’t sure in football any longer because, you know, when you get to the training ground, you don’t feel happy anymore,” I said.

Because all of my friends were playing basketball, I was just trying to find other solutions and feel happier than I had before.

Gvardiol bided his time and joined the senior squad, winning back-to-back titles with Zagreb and sealing his move to the Bundesliga for a record sum for a Croatian teenager.

After making 87 appearances for RB Leipzig, Gvardiol signed a five-year deal with Manchester City in 2023, impressing in his two seasons there.

Only one defender in professional football has moved to a higher paying position, joining Manchester United from Leicester City for $80 million in 2019.

Although it was obvious that my goal was to play football professionally, Gvardiol continued, “I didn’t know that I was going to make that leap.”

Gvardiol once engaged in minute-long battles.

No defender has scored more goals in the Premier League since his arrival, making him a crucial part of Guardiola’s system.

Last season, I was like, “No matter what, how I feel, no matter if I’m fit or not, I just want to play.” “I only want to compete to support the team,” said Gvardiol.

“I could feel it on my body, especially in the summer,” he said. My knee injury was a [knee] injury, but it’s now recovered after six months.

He played more than 6, 000 minutes for the club and nation last season, appearing in 55 of City’s 61 games and missing only 140 Premier League games overall.

Gvardiol was named eighth among the top ten players by matchday squad inclusions for 2024 and 25 in a recent Fifapro report.

We can’t forget the fact that he played and played and played like he did last season, according to Guardiola.

Guardiola preferred playing Gvardiol at left-back for the majority of last year, including during a time when the reigning champions only managed one win out of 13 games.

It was Gvardiol’s first trophy-less season since 2016-17, and they remarked of their subpar form: “It was quite challenging to get out of.”

We frequently discussed it and tried to solve it. In the end, we were able to reach the FA Cup final and once more reach the Champions League.

Guardiola’s City appear to have put the problems of the previous season behind them, thanks to their summer signings.

City are now five points clear of their first three Premier League defeats, with Gvardiol making his recognizable left-sided starting debut.

He declared, “I’m happy to be back in my position.” Play as you normally would, “Protect the goal, defend the goal.”

We want to aim high this season, and it’s obvious that we have new goals. However, I like to say that the season is over, so let’s go game by game, and it’s still early to discuss our goals.

Ellen White, a former England and Manchester City forward, claimed that Gvardiol’s return to centre-back has improved the club’s defensive defense this year.

She told BBC Sport, “He was absolutely right at left-back and scored a lot of goals.”

They now concede less goals and shots, which is how the statistics speak for themselves.

World track cycling championships in 2025

Location: Santiago, Chile, October 22 through October

At the Track World Championships, Matt Richardson won his first medal for Great Britain, taking home silver in the men’s and women’s team sprint.

The Netherlands defeated both teams to win the women’s trio in Santiago, Chile, with defending world champion Emma Finucane leading debutants Iona Moir and Rhianna Parris-Smith.

After winning three medals at the 2024 Olympics, Richardson resembling Australia to his birthplace.

The 26-year-old described the victory with a silver medal as bittersweet for her.

“I’m going to feel amazing wearing a GB skinsuit for my first medal at a world championships.” I would like to see it as the next step, but I can’t get too upset about that.

Joe Truman and Harry Ledingham-Horn made up the men’s qualifying line-up, placing them second behind the Netherlands, who are the two-time defending champions.

In the end, GB defeated Germany in round one, replacing Ledingham-Horn with Hamish Turnbull.

Richardson and GB were in control as Richardson sped off following the second lap, but Jeffrey Hoogland, who crossed the line 0.37 seconds before Turnbull, managed to close the gap.

We’re a fresh line-up, so each time we step on the track, we’re learning a little bit about each other, Richardson said, adding that with his sixth overall victory.

Finucane, who won gold in Denmark last year, has helped GB win a medal in the women’s category at the past three world championships.

She also won individual gold at the previous two worlds, leading a new-look trio in Chile, which came in first place behind the Netherlands.

The Dutch defeated GB by 0.26secs in the final round after winning Colombia in round one.

Finucane, who won three medals at Paris 2024, “is so proud of these two.” We couldn’t have asked for more, they said, “To go out there in the gold medal ride-off, be composed, feel the pressure, and get there”.”

Maddie Leech finished sixth in the women’s scratch race in Chile, making her world-class debut there.

On Thursday, Finucane will begin her title defense against the women’s sprint while GB aims to win the women’s team pursuit final for the second time in a row.