Bellator FIghter Brennan Ward Retires From MMA

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https://mmajunkie.com/2018/09/bellator-brennan-ward-retirement-mma

After pulling out of Bellator 207 due to an undisclosed injury, Brennan Ward has decided to retire from MMA competition.

MMAjunkie today learned from a Bellator official that Ward (14-6 MMA, 9-6 BMMA) has informed the promotion of his intent to hang up his gloves from the sport.

Ward was scheduled to fight Andre Fialho at Bellator 207 in October, but had to withdraw over the weekend. Ward hasn’t fought since August 2017, and apparently the latest setback was the final straw.

The 30-year-old suffered a third-round submission loss to Fernando Gonzalez in his most recent bout more than a year ago at Bellator 182. Prior to that fight, Ward was caught with a highlight-reel knockout against Paul Daley at Bellator 170 in January 2017.

Ward’s last victory came at Bellator 163 in November 2016 when he scored a first-round knockout of Saad Awad. The stoppage result was part of the great narrative of Ward’s career, which saw him go to the scorecards just once in 20 career bouts.

During his Bellator tenure along, Ward earned nine wins by knockout or submission. Those nine finishes rank third in company history behind Michael Chandler (11) and Patricio Freire (nine).

Ward has yet to publicly comment on his decision to retire.
 
https://mmajunkie.com/2018/09/bellator-brennan-ward-retirement-mma

After pulling out of Bellator 207 due to an undisclosed injury, Brennan Ward has decided to retire from MMA competition.

MMAjunkie today learned from a Bellator official that Ward (14-6 MMA, 9-6 BMMA) has informed the promotion of his intent to hang up his gloves from the sport.

Ward was scheduled to fight Andre Fialho at Bellator 207 in October, but had to withdraw over the weekend. Ward hasn’t fought since August 2017, and apparently the latest setback was the final straw.

The 30-year-old suffered a third-round submission loss to Fernando Gonzalez in his most recent bout more than a year ago at Bellator 182. Prior to that fight, Ward was caught with a highlight-reel knockout against Paul Daley at Bellator 170 in January 2017.

Ward’s last victory came at Bellator 163 in November 2016 when he scored a first-round knockout of Saad Awad. The stoppage result was part of the great narrative of Ward’s career, which saw him go to the scorecards just once in 20 career bouts.

During his Bellator tenure along, Ward earned nine wins by knockout or submission. Those nine finishes rank third in company history behind Michael Chandler (11) and Patricio Freire (nine).

Ward has yet to publicly comment on his decision to retire.

Oddly enough despite his age I really do not think we will see him back. Calling it
 
Didn't see that coming. He was a good, exciting fighter, was never boring.
 
Wow B-Ward. That leaves me heartbroken. No bs, dude is a legit Bellator legend. We will miss you B-Ward!
 
Brennan was one of my faves during the Bjorn tournament era.

He kinda got screwed out of the title shot when they decided to do Koreshkov vs Henderson instead. He REALLY shouldn't have taken that Cyborg fight.

I couldn't see him fighting for another Bellator belt after that one. He was basically Bellator Jake Ellenberger.

He will be missed.
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Good for him. He's 30. With that style, it's better to retire sooner rather than later.
 
Dam I'm gonna miss Ward. You knew he was going to bring it regardless of opponent. From his interviews, he exhibited that old school warrior mentality so I'm sure this was a hard decision to make.
 
After taking that flying knee against Daley, it is probably good he retires from the sport now.
 
Ward has always been my favorite Bellator fighter. He really had that warrior mentality when he was at his peak winning the Bellator MW tournament. There aren’t a lot of fighters left like him. I didn’t see this coming. However, you can tell he lost his fire after taking that flying knee from Daley. I think that fight ended his career. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.

Also it looks like his social media has been quiet for quite some time. Nothing relatively new on his twitter or Instagram. Hope everything is ok in his personal life.
 
Damn, unexpected, exciting fighter

There was a sherdogger who knows him, I wish I could remember his username, something with "Irish Thug" I think?
 
He's on the young side to retire. Maybe he's been plagued by injuries? Doesn't seem like the type of guy to have another lucrative career already lined up. I wonder what he's going to end up doing now. I think it's more likely than not that he'll be back fighting.
 
He's on the young side to retire. Maybe he's been plagued by injuries? Doesn't seem like the type of guy to have another lucrative career already lined up. I wonder what he's going to end up doing now. I think it's more likely than not that he'll be back fighting.

I doubt he will be back unfortunately. I think he’s had ongoing fight injuries since the Cyborg fight. I know Cyborg tore his knee, and he suffered some massive head trauma from the Daley fight. This is the second fight he’s pulled out of in the past year due to undisclosed injuries. He was scheduled to fight Rickles last year but pulled out a few weeks before the fight due to injuries as well. I think MMA just took a toll on his body since he went to war every fight.
 
The way he fights it’s amazing he made it to 20 fights.

Old-school “Just Bleed” style fights make for great entertainment but not for long-term career health. Never was a fan of him personally, but always enjoyed watching him fight.

Hope he got out of the game in time, but the fact that he’s retiring after consecutive pullouts does not bode well.
 
I can see him coming back, its not like in UFC with USADA where you have to wait 6 months. So he anytime he feels like he gets the itch again and wants to fight he can just return.

he's still young.
 
I appreciated his all-action style. He was a little rough on the mic, but he always brought it.
 
Dude was pure violence in the cage. Sucks to see him retire so early.
 
Another disciple of the Just Bleed Gods leaves the sport. Enjoyed his fights a lot.
 
This sucks! He was one of the home grown guys I would look forward to!
 
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