While West Valley City, Utah isn’t exactly Moscow, Russia — Friday night’s 185-pound title fight at Bellator 114 certainly has a Rocky IV feel to it. Playing the role of Ivan Drago is middleweight champion Alexander “The Storm” Shlemenko, who makes the third defence of his title against 9-1 American underdog Brennan “The Irish Bad Boy” Ward.
Just last year, the 25-year-old Ward was an afterthought in Bellator’s middleweight division as he was not selected as a participant in the season nine tournament. However his luck would change at Bellator 98 after being selected as a late replacement for Andreas Spang, who was forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal matchup against Justin Torrey. The NCAA All-American wrestler Ward seized the opportunity, knocking out Torrey in the second round and advancing to the semifinals. The Connecticut native would follow that up with victories over Joe Pacheco and Mikkel Parlo to win the season nine tournament and subsequently earn a shot at the middleweight title.
It’s no secret that ever since former middleweight champion Hector Lombard bolted to the UFC two-years ago Bellator’s 185-pound division has been lacking star power. This is at no fault to the current champ Shlemenko, who has performed exceptionally well since winning the vacant title in February last year. The problem with the Russian phenom, like current UFC champions Jose Aldo and Renan Barao, is that his marketability is hindered because he doesn’t speak English very well. Enter in the boisterous underdog Ward, who has the opportunity of a lifetime Friday night.
The Whaling City Boxing product possesses all the characteristics of the superstar, being an outspoken, good looking fighter who also has an exciting style. Of his nine wins, eight are finishes — six knockouts and two submission victories. Ward aims to follow the blueprint of former 155-pound champion Michael Chandler, who endured a similar path to superstardom by upsetting the much more experienced Eddie Alvarez back in 2011 at Bellator 58. However, compared to Chandler, Ward has a significantly tougher task ahead of him.
The glaring difference between both these fighters is experience, with the American having just 10 pro bouts compared to the 56 on Shlemenko’s resume. In addition, the M-1 veteran is on a 12-fight win streak and hasn’t lost a fight since dropping a hard-fought decision to Lombard in 2010. With that said, we have seen Shlemenko’s weaknesses displayed before as he was almost stopped by a Brett Cooper last September at Bellator 98. Like Cooper, Ward also has a puncher’s chance to finish this fight, but considering the Russian has only been knocked out once in his lengthy career, that’s not an easy task.
Win or lose, fans can expect an all-out war between these two warriors, as neither fighter is afraid to engage in a standup affair. If Ward were able to pull off the upset, it would propel him into Bellator superstar status and join a list that includes homegrown talent like Chandler, Pat Curran and Joe Warren. In addition, a win would complete a real life Rocky story for the Waterford, Conn., native going from a late tournament replacement to a promotional champion.
