With back-to-back finishes in comeback, Brennan Ward wondering about steps for next level

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Now that his comeback seems on firm ground with back-to-back stoppage wins, Brennan Ward is starting to think about his next step.

Ward (16-6 MMA, 11-6 BMMA) on Friday finished Kassius Kayne (12-8 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a second-round TKO to open the main card at Bellator 282 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. His finish of Brandon Bell in February was his return to MMA for the first time since August 2017 and his first win since 2016.

And while the stoppage wins are nice, Ward said he has to think realistically about what things could look like if he keeps moving up in competition, either at welterweight or a move up to middleweight.

“I do this part time – I really do,” Ward told MMA Junkie after the fight. “I only train two, maybe three days a week. If I’m going to step up in competition, I need to train more. I need to figure out what I’m going to do with work. I’m not going to be able to fight the next-level guys with performances like that.

“Yeah, I can f*cking throw bombs with the best of them. I can punch with the best of them, power-wise. But a kid like Logan Storley, who just got done fighting two 25-minute fights – that kid would wear me down unless I finish him first.”

Ward, who is from New London just down the road from Uncasville, works a regular job. Right now, in his return to the sport, fighting alone can’t pay the bills.

To make his final preparations for Kayne, he took vacation so he wouldn’t have to focus on both work and fighting. But now it’ll be back to reality.

“That was a nice way to end my two-week vacation,” Ward said. “Back to work on Monday. My boss is here somewhere. He’s probably got my welding hood in his backpack. ‘Hey, can we go to the shop tonight?’ ‘No, Albert.’”

Check out Ward’s full post-fight interview in the video above.