Brennan Ward doesn't think Rizin fight will impact place in Bellator title picture

Brennan Ward

Bellator’s Brennan Ward doesn’t care about whether fighting for Rizin Fighting Federation on New Year’s Eve is the best decision for his career at this point.

Ward (12-3) will jump into a high-risk, low-reward situation on Thursday when he takes on a larger opponent at a higher weight at Rizin Fighting Federation 1: Day 2 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

“Irish” typically competes at welterweight, but at Rizin he’ll face undefeated Ken Hasegawa (10-0-1), who walks around at more than 200 pounds and has fought at heavyweight for the majority of his career.

Although Ward’s primary fighting home is with Bellator and he’s on a three-fight winning streak that has him trending toward a title shot, the 27-year-old said he’s not concerned about what potential setbacks a loss to Hasegawa could cause.

“I don’t care about title shots or any of that (expletive),” Ward told MMAjunkie. “If they give me a title shot, cool. If they don’t, I don’t care. I do this for fun. I fight for the fun of it. When it stops being fun, dude, I’m out. It’s all about the process. If it’s not fun, then the end result is not worth it. I don’t focus on the title. I don’t (expletive) care if I lose – big whoop. Who the (expletive) cares?”

Ward’s carefree attitude will help him on fight night, he said. Despite the fact Hasegawa will hold some physical advantages, Ward said he believes his strategic approach will be of benefit for a victory.

“He seems like a big dude, so I’ve been working on pacing myself more,” Ward said. “Sometimes I get out there and I go crazy. He’s a big dude, and it’s a 10-minute round, so I’m going to have to pace myself more and pick my shots and try to make him make a mistake. I’m not fazed by too much and I’m just stoked to fight in wrestling shoes. It’s going to make me 10 times more explosive than I already am.”

After a rough 2014 campaign in which he was submitted by ex-Bellator champ Alexander Shlemenko and knocked out by Tamdan McCrory in 21 seconds, Ward is ready to close out 2015 with his fourth consecutive win.

Ward said he’s rediscovered his enjoyment for the sport after a down point, and the results have showed with three consecutive first-round stoppages. He said he’s embracing the unique position of fighting in Japan at such a major event, and he plans to prove worthy of that spot with a big win.

“When I fought Shlemenko, I got away from the fun,” Ward said. “I was buying into my own hype, thinking I was the (expletive) man, and I went and got my ass kicked. Then (expletive) Tamdan McCrory kicked my ass. The fun was gone because I was stretching it. I was stretching it way too much. Now I’m having fun with it again, and now I’m kicking ass and taking names.

“I won’t get beat by anybody. When I’m on, I’m on. I can hang with the top dudes in the world at middleweight and welterweight. It’s just a matter of going in there and executing.”

For more on Rizin Fighting Federation 1, Day 2, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.