Charlie Ward (fighter)

Charlie Ward
Born Mountmellick, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 84.5 kg (186 lb; 13 st 4 lb)
Division Middleweight
Welterweight
Reach 73.5 in (187 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Dublin, Ireland
Team Straight Blast Gym Ireland[1]
Trainer John Kavanagh
Years active 2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 8
Wins 5
By knockout 3
By decision 2
Losses 3
By knockout 3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Charlie Ward 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 December 9, 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 November 19, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2.[5][6] Ward suffered a quick defeat where he was finished via knockout in the fight's opening minute.[7][8][9]

Ward faced Galore Bofando at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio on July 16, 2017.[10] 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.[11][12]

Bellator MMA

Ward made the move to join Bellator MMA and made his debut on November 10, 2017 at Bellator 187 in Dublin against John Redmond.[13] Conor McGregor, Ward's teammate, stirred controversy by tackling Ward and pulling guard, while the fight was not officially declared over yet.[14] McGregor was separated by referee Marc Goddard as Goddard need to verify the knock-out was indeed before the end-of-round of bell, and to ensure lock down of the cage for medical staff to assess the health of the knocked out Redmond. McGregor 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.[15][16][17]

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"[14][18][19][20] 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.[21]

This is the second encounter between McGregor and Goddard where Goddard ordered McGregor to return to his seat at UFC Fight Night 118 at Gdansk, Poland in Artem Lobov vs. Andre Fili fight when Conor attempted to serve as the cornerman.[22][23] At post fight interview, Ward explained the confusion with the fight stop:

For his second fight with the promotion, Ward faced Martin Hudson at Bellator 200 held in the Wembley Arena on May 25, 2018.[25] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[26]

Death of João Carvalho

Ward's victory over João Carvalho by knockout at Total Extreme Fighting 1 on April 9, 2016 was overcast with a tragic circumstance. Carvalho felt unwell, suffering from a headache 20 minutes[27] after the fight and was sent to 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.[28][29] His death sparked outpouring grief from the MMA community.[30][27]

The death of Carvalho aroused rage, explosive debate, and criticism[31] from Ward's father and the MMA community shared the same sentiment that the fight should have been stopped much earlier.[32] 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."[33][34] 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.[35]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 5–3 Martin Hudson TKO (punches) Bellator 200 May 25, 2018 1 2:23 London, England
Win 4–3 John Redmond KO (punch) Bellator 187 November 10, 2017 1 4:59 Dublin, Ireland Return to Middleweight.
Loss 3–3 Galore Bofando KO (slam and punches) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio July 16, 2017 1 2:10 Glasgow, Scotland
Loss 3–2 Abdul Razak Alhassan KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 November 19, 2016 1 0:53 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Win 3–1 Gareth Williams Decision (majority) Adrenalin Fight Nights: Adrenalin Blast June 4, 2016 3 5:00 Swansea, Wales Middleweight bout.
Win 2–1 João Carvalho TKO (punches) Total Extreme Fighting 1 April 9, 2016 3 N/A Dublin, Ireland Carvalho later died due to injuries sustained in the fight.
Win 1–1 Ciaran Daly Decision (unanimous) Cage Kings 2 August 9, 2015 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland Welterweight debut.
Loss 0–1 John Phillips KO (punch) Fightstar Promotions: Rage in the Cage 3 March 21, 2015 2 0:00 Paisley, Scotland Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.

[36]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Charlie Ward". Tapology. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  2. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Charlie Ward MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  3. ↑ "SBG Welterweight Charlie Ward To Battle Galore Bofando At UFC Glasgow - Pundit Arena". www.punditarena.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  4. ↑ Mark La Monica (2016-11-07). "Randy Brown gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night in Albany". newsday.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  5. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs Abdul Razak Alhassan confirmed for UFC Belfast". SevereMMA.com - UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Irish MMA. 2016-11-12. Archived from the original on 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Conor McGregor's teammate Charlie Ward set for Octagon debut at UFC Belfast". The Sun. 2016-11-10. Archived from the original on 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  7. ↑ "Watch: SBG's Charlie Ward KO'ed In Wild Slugfest On UFC Debut In Belfast - Pundit Arena". www.punditarena.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  8. ↑ "Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Charlie Ward Fight Video - UFC Fight Night 99: Belfast Prelim". www.allfreefightvideos.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  9. ↑ "UFC Fight Night 99 results: Abdul Razak Alhassan drops Charlie Ward in 53-second slugfest". MMAjunkie. 2016-11-19. Archived from the original on 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  10. ↑ "Charlie Ward to face Galore Bofando at UFC Scotland". SevereMMA.com - UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Irish MMA. 2017-05-03. Archived from the original on 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  11. ↑ "Charlie Ward suffers bizzare [sic] KO loss at UFC Glasgow, after being thrown on his head". Dailystar.co.uk. 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  12. ↑ Metro.co.uk, Coral Barry for (2017-07-16). "Video: Bizarre KO from a hip toss puts Charlie Ward to sleep at UFC Glasgow". Metro. Archived from the original on 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  13. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs. John Redmond confirmed for Bellator 187". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  14. 1 2 "Conor McGregor appears to admit giving MMA official a 'clatter' in new video". The Irish Sun. 2017-11-11. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  15. ↑ "Conor McGregor jumps cage at Bellator 187, confronts referee Marc Goddard". MMAjunkie. 2017-11-10. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  16. ↑ "McGregor leaps into Bellator ring, causes stir". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  17. ↑ Davies, Gareth A. (2017-11-11). "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 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  18. ↑ BuzzyNews UK (2017-11-10), Conor McGregor slaps commissioner after confrontation with referee, archived from the original on 2017-11-13, retrieved 2017-11-11
  19. ↑ "UFC's Conor McGregor shoves referee, slaps official at Bellator 187 - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  20. ↑ "Conor goes too far: Attacks ref, slaps official". NewsComAu. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  21. ↑ "John Redmond says Conor McGregor 'overshadowed' his Bellator bout, influenced stoppage vs. Charlie Ward". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  22. ↑ "Conor McGregor jumps cage at Bellator 187, confronts referee Marc Goddard". MMAjunkie. 2017-11-10. Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  23. ↑ Davies, Gareth A. (2017-11-11). "Conor McGregor faces fine or ban for altercation with referee at Bellator MMA 187 event". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  24. ↑ SevereMMA (2017-11-10), Post-Fight Scrum with Charlie Ward at Bellator 187, archived from the original on 2017-11-13, retrieved 2017-11-10
  25. ↑ "Bellator London". Bellator.com. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  26. ↑ "Bellator 200 Results: Carvalho vs. Mousasi". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  27. 1 2 "Fighter dies after MMA bout in Ireland". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  28. ↑ "Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho dies following MMA loss". MMAjunkie. 2016-04-12. Archived from the original on 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  29. ↑ "MMA fighter dies in Beaumont Hospital following fight in the National Stadium". 2016-04-12. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  30. ↑ "MMA death: Joao Carvalho TKO vs Charlie Ward, Conor McGregor UFC megastar tribute, Marc Goddard plea". Fox Sports. 2016-04-13. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  31. ↑ "It is a scandal that a man was legally beaten to death in public". Mail Online. Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  32. ↑ "Don't blame my son for MMA death". Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  33. ↑ "'I stopped the fight at the proper time' - Referee from tragic Joao Carvalho MMA bout - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  34. ↑ Jones, Matt. "Referee Mariusz Domasat Comments on Joao Carvalho vs. Charlie Ward Fight". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  35. ↑ Lane, Daniel (2016-04-14). "Joao Carvalho death: Charlie Ward pulled his punches in MMA cage fight in Dublin". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  36. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Charlie Ward MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  • Professional MMA record for Charlie Ward from Sherdog Edit this at Wikidata
  • "Charlie Ward". UFC.com.
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