Fabian Edwards, the #2 ranked middleweight contender under the Bellator MMA banner and brother of undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards maintains his undefeated record this year under the scrutiny of Scott Coker — handing Charlie Ward, the teammate of former two-weight UFC best, Conor McGregor a unanimous decision loss.
Co-headlining Bellator 287 in Milan, Italy — Fabian Edwards, a staple of Team Renagade BJJ & MMA in Birmingham, got off to a bright start against Straight Blast Gym product, Ward, rocking the UFC alum with a massive left high kick — reminiscent of a high kick his brother Leon landed to defeat Kamaru Usman earlier this summer.
Stunning the always-competitive Ward with a series of elbows in a tight exchange, Edwards shared some unpleasantries with Portlaoise native, Ward on the ground in the final minute of the last round, as the latter accused Edwards of holding onto a decision win — as he failed to land another finish off the back of an earlier year knockout win over former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida.
Less than happy with his performance against Ward, Edwards, who had likely earned himself a middleweight title shot against division kingpin, Johnny Elben next, distanced himself from a fight — focusing on a self-labelled lacklustre display.
Below, catch the highlights from Fabian Edwards’ decision win over Charlie Ward
@fabianedwards24 hurts @RelentlessWard but the Irishman gets it to the ground. #Bellator287 |
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 29, 2022
A storming takedown from @fabianedwards24 gets @RelentlessWard to the canvas again.#Bellator287 |
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 29, 2022
Are we looking at the next Middleweight title challenger?
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 29, 2022