Brennan Ward

The Irish Bad Boy

USA

Blows two-round lead against Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 182
WelterweightBellator
August 25, 2017
Ward lost to Fernando Gonzalez via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:02 of Round 3 at Bellator 182 on Friday in Verona, N.Y.
ANALYSIS
When Gonzalez takes a step up in competition there is a familiar trend. He comes in as an underdog, does enough to make his opponent have an off day and eventually drops the decision. This nearly happened against Ward, just like it did against Michael Page and Paul Daley (kickboxing). Ward seemed to be aware of this trend. He slowed down his normally crazy pace. He went to his wrestling early and often, and he built a lead going into the third round. In the last frame, he went for a takedown and got caught in a guillotine. Despite the loss, Ward is not going anywhere. The promotion loves his exciting fights, so he will certainly be back. However, this loss does pretty much eliminate him from title contention for the time being.
Read More News
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
More Fantasy News
Falls via knockout for the second time in his career
WelterweightBellator
January 21, 2017
Ward lost to Paul Daley via KO (Knee) at 2:27 of Round 1 at Bellator 170 in Inglewood, Calif. on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Ward has never really been afraid to mix it up on the feet in his fights. He was clearly rethinking that strategy early in this fight. After tasting Daley's power, he switched to his wrestling game. He landed a pair of takedowns, but Ward could not hold him down. After the two separated, Daley unleashed a flying knee that finished Ward. "Irish" suffered a knockout loss for only the second time in his career.
Stops Saad Awad in the first round
WelterweightBellator
November 4, 2016
Ward defeated Saad Awad via TKO (punches) at 1:26 of round 1 at Bellator 163 on Friday in Uncasville, Conn.
ANALYSIS
Going into this fight, it was easy to predict a wrestling based decision for Ward. He is a big welterweight who has even fought at middleweight. On the other hand, Awad is a career lightweight who recently moved up. However, this fight ended up being a slug fest. After some early clinches, both fighters started throwing. They did not stop until Awad was caught with a hooked and knocked out. Ward fired up his hometown fans and picked up his ninth career knockout. His recent loss against Evangelist "Cyborg" Santos will likely keep him out of the title picture, but he can't be more than a few wins away at this point.
WelterweightBellator
April 22, 2016
Ward will enter his Welterweight bout with Evangelista Santos as a -500 favorite at Bellator 153 on Friday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
ANALYSIS
"Irish" Brennan Ward is coming off of an exciting submission victory over Ken Hasegawa at Rizin FF in Japan. Still just 27 years old, Ward has been built up slowly after a pair of losses to Alexander Shlemenko and Tamdan McCrory dulled his momentum. While "Cyborg" Santos is a battle-tested veteran of the sport with name value, the 38-year-old has dropped three of his last five fights, including a vicious TKO loss to Melvin Manhoef. Look for Ward to exploit Cyborg's suspect chin, as he ascends the ranks of Bellator's Welterweight division.
WelterweightBellator
October 23, 2015
Ward earned a victory over Dennis Olson via KO (Punches) at 4:37 of Round 1 at Bellator 144 on Friday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
ANALYSIS
As anticipated, the question for "Irish" Brennan Ward entering this bout wasn't if he'd get the stoppage, but when. Ward's opponent, Dennis Olson, entered the fight with a suspect chin, having suffered a brutal TKO loss just three months before Bellator 144. Connecting with a stiff right hand at the conclusion of Round 1, Ward has now won each of his last three bouts -- albeit against opponents with a combined 38-25 record.
WelterweightBellator
October 23, 2015
Ward will enter his welterweight fight with Dennis Olson as a -1075 favorite at Bellator 144 on Friday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
ANALYSIS
On the heels of a KO victory over the 16-13 Roger Carroll at Bellator 140, Ward will attempt to become 3-0 in 2015 with a win over the 14-9 Dennis Olson. The 27-year-old Ward is a talented striker, and an excellent promoter, but lost stock with consecutive defeats to Alexander Shlemenko and Tamdan McCrory. With a convincing stoppage of Olson, Ward should be ready to face opponents of his caliber once again.