Brennan Ward (Credit: PFL)
Brennan Ward fulfilled with his fighting career, urges young fighters to join PFL
Brennan Ward and his journey through mixed martial arts has been one of trials, tribulation, but one that he’s never given up on. As he battled through addiction and finally found his way to sobriety, Ward could disappear from the fight game as quickly as he could electrify the crowd. Now focused on providing the best life for his family as a worker, fighter, and sober man, there’s a sense of fulfillment that he throughly enjoys.
Ahead of his second fight in the PFL during his first stint in their Regular Season, Ward spoke to the media about where he’s at in his life and career, his second round fight against Magomed Umalatov at PFL 6, and sang the praises of his new promotion, the Professional Fighters League. Fighting on his 36th birthday, Ward was asked about what challenges he still feel he has in his career.
“When I came back two years ago, I never meant for it to get this big again. I wanted to just fight one or two years again at Mohegan Sun. Everyone knows the way I left back in 2017 when I just up and quit, when I was going through all my shit back then. When I came back I never meant for it to come back to this level, I love my day job, when I made the comeback to fight I never meant for it to get to this level again. I didn’t want it to be a full-time job again. I never really dealt too well with the pressure of it and now, I got family, I got kids, I got so much going on. Being a full-time fighter, it’s hard on me. My kids are the reason why I’m still alive, my kids are the reason I’m not dead, so to even be away from them for a day, it kills me.”
Although he wasn’t expecting to get back into fighting as a full-time job, Ward could potentially make the playoffs with a quick finish over Umalatov and some help from other results in the division’s regular season. Regardless of what his expectations were and what he has done in 2024, Brennan Ward would go on to say that he feels fulfilled with his career.
“Yes, 100%, I did more with this comeback than I already wanted to. This got bigger than I thought it was going to get. This is my sixth fight back in a couple years and I’m fulfilled, I’m going to go out there with everything I got on Friday night. Any fight from here on out, if that’s it then that’s it, and I’m good.”
Forever loyal to his Bellator roots, Brennan Ward has made it clear that his name will forever be cemented with the promotion where he made his name for himself. Now that he’s with the PFL and has a sense of fulfillment in his own career, he does see the benefits his new promotion offers and advised younger fighters to make the move to the Professional Fighters League.
“If I was younger and up-and-coming, I see a lot of young dudes coming up in this PFL. This is a great platform for these young guys coming up, for sure. You’re getting plenty of exposure. If this is the life that you want, this [PFL] is a great option. If you’re good, if you’re a good up-and-coming fighter and you’re going to be on main cards, this is where you can be. You can make good money and you can fight all the time, you’re going to get a name.”
There is no doubt that Brennan Ward made his name and his career during his tenure with the Bellator promotion, but as a veteran who has been through it all and still has fight left in him, he is appointment viewing for the PFL. Even if his career doesn’t continue as long as fans may want, Ward has fulfillment, he has had great memories inside the cage, and believes his new home could provide the same opportunities for the next generation of fighters.
