With Norbert Novenyi Jr. out, Fabian Edwards steps in to face Charlie Ward at Bellator 270
Charlie Ward will get an opportunity to move up the rankings when he faces short-notice replacement Fabian Edwards.
Norbert Novenyi Jr. has been forced out of Bellator 270, and Ward (9-4 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) now takes on Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) on Nov. 5 at Dublin’s 3Arena, promotion officials announced Tuesday.
Novenyi took to Instagram to share that a torn ACL has forced him out of the bout.
“Probably not the most ideal birthday post but unfortunately I will have to pull out from my fight against charlie ward as I have torn my ACL during a wrestling exchange. I tried to carry on and push through it however it hasn’t gotten better. It’s heartbreaking as I have not had a fight in over a year now and I really felt like I was in the best shape I have ever been in. This means that I might be out for up to 9-12 months before I can get back to training properly. Fighting is my job, my passion and all I have. Haven’t seen my dad and that side of the family in almost over 2 years now, and probably see my family in England once every 2 months. I spend every single day at the gym working my butt off and not being able to do what I love is very upsetting. Regardless, I’ll get through this and will be back on my way to becoming a champion.
Ya boy,
Norbs.”
Since joining the Bellator roster in 2017, SBG Ireland’s Ward has won six of his past seven, with five of those wins coming by finish. He was last seen in action in October 2020 when he picked up a unanimous decision over Andy Manzolo at Bellator Europe 9.
Meanwhile, Edwards will look to snap his first-career losing skid. After kicking off his professional MMA career at 9-0, Edwards has dropped back-to-back bouts to Costello van Steenis and most recently Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259 in May.
The Bellator 270 lineup currently includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 5 p.m. ET)
- James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix
- Patricky Freire vs. Peter Queally
- Fabian Edwards vs. Charlie Ward
- Daniel Wiechel vs. Pedro Carvalho
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 1:30 p.m. ET)
- Jordan Barton vs. Ciaran Clarke
- Ilias Bulaid vs. Georges Sasu
- Ashley Reece vs. Luca Poclit
- Brian Hooi vs. Daniele Scatizzi
- Lee Chadwick vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus
- Gokhan Saricam vs. Rob Beech
- Nicolo Solli vs. Bobby Pallett
- Audrey Kerouche vs. Danni Neilan
- Darragh Kelly vs. Junior Morgan
- Stephen Costello vs. Yusuf Nazokatov
- Constantin Blanita vs. Scott Pedersen
With Norbert Novenyi Jr. out, Fabian Edwards steps in to face Charlie Ward at Bellator 270
