Joanne Wood questions why five-minute break was not given after taking illegal strikes at UFC 286

Joanne Wood returned to the win column in her most recent fight, which transpired at the UFC 286 event in London, England, earlier tonight (March 18th, 2023). Wood utilized her Muay Thai skills and outworked her opponent Luana Carolina to secure a split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) victory.

During her UFC 286 post-fight press conference segment, the 37-year-old MMA stalwart was asked about a potential illegal knee strike that she almost landed while her opponent Luana Carolina was down on the mat.

Joanne Wood (formerly known as Joanne Calderwood) responded by suggesting that Luana Carolina kneed her in the groin thrice. 'JoJo' opined that the referee Herb Dean ought to have given her (Wood) an official five-minute break to recover from the low blows. Wood stated:

"Hey, listen, let's -- She kneed me in the b*lls three times in there. I even looked at Herb Dean. He looked back. And I was like, 'No. Don't get any of that.' But yeah, I mean, why did we not get five minutes? And I felt like I was going to do the toilet."

She continued:

"But yeah, I come from Muay Thai, and that was one of my things. I always looked for that -- As you were going down, to kick them in the face. I mean, pre-drills would be great for me. In the gym, ask anyone that's trained with me. I'm always like, throwing it or thinking about it, and then be like, 'Oh, sorry.'"

Watch Wood's assessment in the video below:

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Joanne Wood sets her eye on a potential rematch against Lauren Murphy next

Joanne Wood's win against Luana Carolina at UFC 286 helped break her three-fight losing streak. During the UFC 286 post-fight press conference, the Muay Thai veteran indicated that her next fight would be the final fight of her current UFC contract. Wood insinuated that she'd like to re-sign with the UFC but has consistently maintained that she could retire in the near future.

That said, Joanne Wood emphasized that she currently feels great and isn't thinking about retirement right now. 'JoJo' further explained that she'd like rematches against some of her past opponents to whom she's previously lost. Expressing interest in avenging her 2021 split decision loss against fellow UFC women's flyweight mainstay 'Lucky' Lauren Murphy, Wood said:

"Looking forward to get back in there. I know Lauren Murphy is looking for a fight. I think Lauren, not so lucky the next time -- Murphy would be a good fight."

Watch Wood discuss the topic at 2:24 in the video below: