Brennan Ward is no longer a Bellator-branded fighter.
For the first time in more than a decade, Ward (17-7) is actively competing, but not under the Bellator banner. A mainstay in the promotion, Ward made his debut at Bellator 81 in 2012. He appeared in the promotion 19 times in 12 years, but five of those were during his hiatus due to his temporary retirement due to his battle with drug addiction.
After losing to Logan Storey in August, Ward was eager to fight again once his injury healed. However, when it came time to return to the cage, things got a little murky. Bellator was acquired by his PFL. With the fighter straddling his two brands, Ward wasn’t sure where he fit in, if anywhere at all.
“I’m getting frustrated, man,” Ward recently told MMA Junkie. “I was working. I was half working, half training, waiting for something to happen. I told my manager. He was like, ‘Give me time until Friday.’ Ta. Wait until Friday,’ he said for three or four weeks straight. Then I was like shit, dude. I had to get back to work. I was back at work for a while when I got a phone call.
“We didn’t really know what was going on. I said, ‘Then ask for your release.’ Let’s see if we can get out of all this and go to ONE, go to the UFC, or just get out of there. ” They were like, “So, do you want to go to the tournament?” “When’s the tournament?” He said, “In a month.” I thought, “Perfect.” Alright, let’s go. ‘Fucking perfect. ”
Ward has been offered the 2024 PFL welterweight season, which begins Friday against former UFC fighter Don Mudge (10-4-1) at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Midway through his first on-field fight week under the new regime, Ward expressed the strangeness of the new faces, routines and protocols, as well as nostalgia for the old one. The most attractive arrangement Ward sees is arguably the potential for a prize pot at the end of the playoff rainbow.
“That ($1 million prize) is nice, dude,” Ward said. “Hopefully that ends up attracting more players to the PFL. If I end up staying here in the PFL, it’s going to be tough…I almost have to say…this league. It’s tough. At least Bellator had the swag. Bellator never tried to be the UFC. We were our own. It’s like X-Games and Dew Tour. Not everyone can be X-Games, but Dew Tour is shit, bro. We don’t have to wear uniforms. We didn’t. We had to be individuals. It was a mom-and-pop company. It felt like they were trying so hard to be like the UFC right now.
“But now they’re offering this big bonus. So, hopefully, a guy with a little more swag will come here. So if I stay here, I will grow and gain some influence and get some recognition because it sucks that no one knows about PFL even though there are some good fighters. I was so proud of Bellator because I knew Bellator was its own thing. It was never going to be the UFC. We had some swaps with Bellator. It was legit. It was weird. It was a shitty house. Now in the PFL. are new people.”
In order to cash the biggest check possible, Ward will look to maximize his regular-season points, which he thinks comes naturally to his fight style and desire to go for the finish. .
Mudge is his first test, but Ward has his eye on everyone from Shamil Musayev (who he said he had an altercation with this week) to old Bellator friends Neiman Gracie and Andrei Koreshkov to recent defeats Story. There is. he.
“I’m going to go in and do what you’re doing. If you finish this tournament, you’ll be rewarded. If you get out of there quickly, you’ll get six points. There’s a five-point lead in the second round.” …I think the top fighters in the tournament are Bellator players. …There’s not a single person in this tournament who’s like, “Oh, shit, I don’t want to fight this guy.” I know that if I go out there, I can beat anyone in this tournament and I can finish anyone in this fucking tournament. ”
At face value, the 2024 PFL welterweight talent pool appears to be grappling-heavy in terms of style. Ward is known for his banger matches, but he also has a background in wrestling. Combined with him being fully healthy for the first time in over a year, Ward believes the rest of the department is in for a terrible awakening.
“We bring a lot of players to the tournament who want to be on the field,” Ward said. “My wrestling is good, brother. Logan beat me. Fuck, whatever. But I stuffed him with some takedowns. It wasn’t until the second round that he let me get taken down. , I was able to get the finishing blow on me. Now that I’m healthy, I hope I can reverse that terrible situation. When I fought Saba (Homasi), I just ended up with a groin tear. I couldn’t do much running or really crazy sparring. In Logan’s case, he messed up his elbow and tore his bicep.
“I’m 100 percent right now, dude. All my injuries are healed. So if these bastards try to drag me down to the ground, I’ll stuff your shit. I’m going to bomb you. I’m in the perfect position to screw people over.”
For more information on this card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 3.
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