Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov will be making his first title defense next Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut as he will be challenged by former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the main event of Bellator 153.
Prior to the fight being officially announced by Bellator, there was a rumor going around the mixed martial arts community that Brennan Ward would be getting the title fight against Koreshkov. However, that plan all changed when Bellator announced that Henderson had signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion.
Following the announcement, there was a poster that was posted online that had Koreshkov fighting Ward at Bellator 153. On this past Thursday’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast,” Ward stated that he felt he was going to be getting the title shot and gave his thoughts on the poster that was posted online following the announcement of Koreshkov vs. Henderson being the main event of next week’s card.
“I thought it was mine,” Ward stated. “I saw the photo too. It’s the exact same photo as theres — it was just me instead of Benson. Same font. Same [expletive] everything. It is what it is man. It’s all part of the business and part of the game. I understand full well the name of the game and the name of the business. I am not hating about it. It is what it is. Bellator is good to me. I get [expletive] paid, so I am not worried about it. My time will come.”
“We were trying to come to an agreement with Bellator on the title situation,” he continued. “They had offered me the fight and for whatever reason, it did not happen. Obviously, Benson being signed right around the time where I was trying to make the deal to make it happen. They signed him. That kind of [expletive] up for me.”
Check out Ward’s complete interview from Thursday’s episode of “The MMA Report Podcast” below and be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher.