Charlie Ward
Born (1980-12-17) 17 December 1980
Mountmellick, Ireland
Other namesRelentless
NationalityIrish
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight186 lb (84.5 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight
Welterweight
Reach73.5 in (187 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofDublin, Ireland
TeamStraight Blast Gym Ireland[1]
TrainerJohn Kavanagh
Years active2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total17
Wins10
By knockout6
By decision4
Losses7
By knockout3
By submission1
By decision3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Charlie Ward (born 17 December 1980) is an Irish mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2014, he formerly competed for the UFC.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ward held an amateur record of 2–0 before beginning his professional MMA career in 2015, competing for regional promotions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He lost his debut where he was stopped in round two by John Phillips. He rebounded with three straight victories, winning over Ciaran Daly, João Carvalho and Gareth Williams.[2]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ward was signed by the UFC in 2016.[3] with the record of 3–1.[1]

Ward was expected to make his promotional debut against Randy Brown on 9 December 2016 at UFC Fight Night 102. However, Ward was pulled from that fight in early November due to alleged visa issues which restricted his travel to the United States and was replaced by fellow newcomer Brian Camozzi.[4] In turn, he was quickly rescheduled to face Abdul Razak Alhassan on 19 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2.[5] Ward suffered a quick defeat where he was finished via knockout in the fight's opening minute.[6][7][8]

Ward faced Galore Bofando at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio on 16 July 2017.[9] He lost the fight via knockout after Bofando slammed him to the mat with a hip toss early in the first round. He was subsequently released from the promotion.[10]

Bellator MMA


Ward made the move to join Bellator MMA and made his debut on 10 November 2017 at Bellator 187 in Dublin against John Redmond.[11] Ward knocked out Redmond at the end of round one, however referee Marc Goddard needed to verify that the knock out was before the buzzer. Conor McGregor, Ward's teammate, jumped the cage to celebrate with Ward before the fight was officially declared over. McGregor was separated Goddard, who in turn charged towards Goddard and pushed and confronted Goddard in a wild melee which caused an official to bump into Redmond as he was getting up.[12][13][14][15]

McGregor did a lap of the cage and exited a few minutes later but then scaled and straddled the cage apron to continue the celebration of Ward's winning. He was stopped by a commissioner and McGregor was agitated and slapped the commissioner's face as McGregor admitted saying "Did you see your man trying to grab me and I gave him a clatter in the face"[16][17][18] Redmond stated after the fight that Goddard had intended to continue to fight to round two but Mohegan Sun commission who oversaw the event decided to end the fight and declared the win to Ward due to McGregor's behaviour in the ring.[19]

For his second fight with the promotion, Ward faced Martin Hudson at Bellator 200 held in the Wembley Arena on 25 May 2018.[20] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[21]

Ward faced Justin Moore at Bellator 223 on 22 June 2019.[22] He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round.[23]

On 15 August 2019, it was announced that Ward had signed an exclusive multi-fight, multi-year contract extension with Bellator.[24] Ward was expected to face Pietro Penini at Bellator Dublin on 27 September 2019, but the bout was scrapped due to Ward's injury. Subsequently, the bout was rescheduled to Bellator London 2 on 23 November 2019.[25] Ward lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Next, Ward faced Kyle Kurtz at Bellator 240 on 22 February 2020. Ward rebounded from the loss via third-round knockout.[26]

Ward faced Andy Manzolo at Bellator Milan 3 on 3 October 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.[27]

Ward was scheduled to face Norbert Novenyi Jr. at Bellator 270 on November 5, 2021.[28] On October 6, Norbert announced that he had suffered a torn ACL and had to pull out of the bout and was replaced by Fabian Edwards.[29] Ward had to pull out however due to a ruptured bicep.[30]

Ward faced Alan Carlos at Bellator 281 on May 13, 2022.[31] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[32]

Ward faced Fabian Edwards on October 29, 2022 at Bellator 287.[33] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[34]

Ward faced Mike Shipman on February 25, 2023 at Bellator 291.[35] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[36]

Ward faced Grégory Babene on September 23, 2023 at Bellator 299, losing the bout guillotine choke in the first round.[37]

Death of João Carvalho

Ward's victory over João Carvalho by knockout at Total Extreme Fighting 1 on 9 April 2016 was overcast with a tragic circumstance. Carvalho felt unwell, suffering from a headache 20 minutes[38] after the fight and was sent to a hospital for a brain surgery. He died at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin 48 hours later as a result of injuries he suffered in the defeat.[39][40] His death sparked outpouring grief from the MMA community.[41][38]

The death of Carvalho aroused considerable debate, focusing on the sentiment that the fight should have been stopped much earlier.[42][43] The referee who was in charge of the fight, Mariusz Domasat, defended his decision and said "If you watch the fight you see clearly there was no reason to stop the fight earlier. I stopped the fight when there was a reason to stop the fight, when the fighter wasn't willing to fight anymore, that's it. Everyone who has any idea about MMA knows the fight was stopped at the exact proper time. I am an experienced referee and part of the Irish Amateur Pankration Association of Safe MMA and I know what I am doing."[44][45] Subsequently, Minister for Travel, Tourism and Sport Michael Ring, reiterated his long concern of the safety aspect of the sport which he had written to 17 MMA promoters in Ireland where he expected MMA should adhere to the safety standards as applied in other sports.[46]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
17 matches 10 wins 7 losses
By knockout 6 3
By submission 0 1
By decision 4 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 10–7 Grégory Babene Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 299 23 September 2023 1 1:03 Dublin, Ireland
Loss 10–6 Mike Shipman Decision (unanimous) Bellator 291 25 February 2023 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland
Loss 10–5 Fabian Edwards Decision (unanimous) Bellator 287 29 October 2022 3 5:00 Milan, Italy
Win 10–4 Alan Carlos Decision (unanimous) Bellator 281 13 May 2022 3 5:00 London, England Catchweight (189.2 lb) bout; Carlos missed weight.
Win 9–4 Andy Manzolo Decision (unanimous) Bellator Milan 3 3 October 2020 3 5:00 Milan, Italy
Win 8–4 Kyle Kurtz TKO (punches) Bellator 240 22 February 2020 3 4:24 Dublin, Ireland
Loss 7–4 Pietro Penini Jr. Decision (unanimous) Bellator London 2 23 November 2019 3 5:00 London, England
Win 7–3 Justin Moore TKO (punches) Bellator 223 22 June 2019 2 3:23 London, England
Win 6–3 Jamie Stephenson KO (punch) Bellator 217 23 February 2019 1 0:34 Dublin, Ireland
Win 5–3 Martin Hudson TKO (punches) Bellator 200 25 May 2018 1 2:23 London, England
Win 4–3 John Redmond KO (punches) Bellator 187 10 November 2017 1 4:59 Dublin, Ireland Return to Middleweight.
Loss 3–3 Galore Bofando KO (slam) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio 16 July 2017 1 2:10 Glasgow, Scotland
Loss 3–2 Abdul Razak Alhassan KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 19 November 2016 1 0:53 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Win 3–1 Gareth Williams Decision (majority) Adrenalin Fight Nights: Adrenalin Blast 4 June 2016 3 5:00 Swansea, Wales Middleweight bout.
Win 2–1 João Carvalho TKO (punches) Total Extreme Fighting 1 9 April 2016 3 N/A Dublin, Ireland
Win 1–1 Ciaran Daly Decision (unanimous) Cage Kings 2 9 August 2015 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland Welterweight debut.
Loss 0–1 John Phillips KO (punch) Fightstar Promotions: Rage in the Cage 3 21 March 2015 2 0:00 Paisley, Scotland Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.

[47]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Charlie Ward". Tapology. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Charlie Ward MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "SBG Welterweight Charlie Ward To Battle Galore Bofando At UFC Glasgow - Pundit Arena". www.punditarena.com. 3 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Mark La Monica (7 November 2016). "Randy Brown gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night in Albany". newsday.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs Abdul Razak Alhassan confirmed for UFC Belfast". SevereMMA.com - UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Irish MMA. 12 November 2016. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Watch: SBG's Charlie Ward KO'ed In Wild Slugfest On UFC Debut In Belfast - Pundit Arena". www.punditarena.com. 19 November 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Charlie Ward Fight Video - UFC Fight Night 99: Belfast Prelim". www.allfreefightvideos.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "UFC Fight Night 99 results: Abdul Razak Alhassan drops Charlie Ward in 53-second slugfest". MMAjunkie. 19 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Charlie Ward to face Galore Bofando at UFC Scotland". SevereMMA.com - UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Irish MMA. 3 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Metro.co.uk, Coral Barry for (16 July 2017). "Video: Bizarre KO from a hip toss puts Charlie Ward to sleep at UFC Glasgow". Metro. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs. John Redmond confirmed for Bellator 187". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Trading Shots: Conor McGregor jumps in cage and crosses line, so now what?". 13 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Conor McGregor jumps cage at Bellator 187, confronts referee Marc Goddard". MMAjunkie. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "McGregor leaps into Bellator ring, causes stir". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Davies, Gareth A. (11 November 2017). "Conor McGregor storms ring and has altercation with referee after Charlie Ward's victory in Dublin". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  16. ↑ BuzzyNews UK (10 November 2017), Conor McGregor slaps commissioner after confrontation with referee, archived from the original on 13 November 2017, retrieved 11 November 2017
  17. ↑ "UFC's Conor McGregor shoves referee, slaps official at Bellator 187 - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Conor goes too far: Attacks ref, slaps official". NewsComAu. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  19. ↑ "John Redmond says Conor McGregor 'overshadowed' his Bellator bout, influenced stoppage vs. Charlie Ward". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Bellator London". Bellator.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "Bellator 200 Results: Carvalho vs. Mousasi". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  22. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs. Justin Moore among additions and changes to Bellator London lineup". mmajunkie.com. 30 May 2019.
  23. ↑ Nolan King (7 August 2019). "Charlie Ward vs. Pietro Penini targeted for Bellator 227". mmajunkie.com.
  24. ↑ Nolan King (15 August 2019). "Phil Davis, Ed Ruth among five fighters to sign Bellator contract extensions". mmajunkie.com.
  25. ↑ Alexander K. Lee (29 October 2019). "Charlie Ward vs. Pietro Penini moved to Bellator London show". mmafighting.com.
  26. ↑ Bryan Tucker (22 February 2020). "Bellator 240/Bellator Dublin results". mmafighting.com.
  27. ↑ "Bellator Milan 'Gallagher vs Ellenor' recap with results, .gifs and interviews". mmamania.com. 3 October 2020.
  28. ↑ Heck, Mike (2 September 2021). "Daniel Weichel vs. Pedro Carvalho, Charlie Ward vs. Norbert Novenyi added to Bellator 270 main card in Dublin". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "With Norbert Novenyi Jr. out, Fabian Edwards steps in to face Charlie Ward at Bellator 270". MMA Junkie. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  30. ↑ Andy Stevenson (28 October 2021). "Fabian Edwards vs Robert Fonseca Set for Bellator 270 in Dublin". MyMMANews.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  31. ↑ Corby, Donagh (6 April 2022). "Irish fan-favourite Charlie Ward's comeback added to Bellator London card". mirror. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  32. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Bellator 281 'MVP vs. Storley' Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring". Sherdog. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Adam Piccolotti vs. Mansour Barnaoui headlines Bellator 287 in Milan, Italy". MMA Junkie. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  34. ↑ Battison, Paul. "Edwards outclasses Ward at Bellator 287 in Milan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  35. ↑ Marrocco, Steven (22 November 2022). "Bellator 291 moves to Feb. 25 with Logan Storley vs. Yaroslav Amosov 2 headlining". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  36. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Bellator 291 'Amosov vs. Storley 2' Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring". Sherdog. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  37. ↑ "Bellator 299 video: Gregory Babene submits Charlie Ward in wild one-minute fight". MMA Junkie. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  38. 1 2 "Fighter dies after MMA bout in Ireland". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  39. ↑ "Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho dies following MMA loss". MMAjunkie. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  40. ↑ "MMA fighter dies in Beaumont Hospital following fight in the National Stadium". 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  41. ↑ "MMA death: Joao Carvalho TKO vs Charlie Ward, Conor McGregor UFC megastar tribute, Marc Goddard plea". Fox Sports. 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  42. ↑ Clerkin, Malachy. "João Carvalho: The life and death of a cage fighter". Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  43. ↑ "Don't blame my son for MMA death". Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  44. ↑ "'I stopped the fight at the proper time' - Referee from tragic Joao Carvalho MMA bout - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  45. ↑ Jones, Matt. "Referee Mariusz Domasat Comments on Joao Carvalho vs. Charlie Ward Fight". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  46. ↑ Lane, Daniel (14 April 2016). "Joao Carvalho death: Charlie Ward pulled his punches in MMA cage fight in Dublin". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  47. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Charlie Ward MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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