Flyweight prospect Trevor Ward bounced back from his first career defeat in late May with a victory over Bill Friday and he will look for his second straight win tonight at Michiani Fight League when he meets Jarred Brooks.
The victory over Friday back at the end of May was the first fight for Ward in over a year. His previous fight was a lost in Pancrase and the defeat was due to an injury.
Ward (5-1) was happy to get the win against Friday, but he did admit to The MMA Report that he did have ring rust against Friday.
“I had a little ring rust and stood still too much,” Ward said. “I think that is why it went to a decision because he kept just taking me down. I got the ring rust out of the way and I am just ready to go again.”
He will return to the cage tonight in South Bend, Indiana and will be meeting an undefeated fighter. Brooks opened his career with three straight wins by submission in the first round, but Ward does not view his opponent as a submission guy.
“He is a wrestler and he is a grinder. The guys he fought in his first two fights are like 2-19 combined overall record,” Ward explained. “I’ve had a lot tougher competition in my fights. I think he is more of a wrestler and a grinder. He just takes submissions that people give to him.”
Ward expects a lot of similarities in his fight tonight that he saw in his last fight. He would like to have a striking matchup, but understands his opponent will likely be looking to take the fight to the ground.
“In my last fight, I just wanted to stand and bang. I thought he was going to stand up with me. He kept shooting, shooting, and shooting. I think this is going to be the same fight as my previous fight with Bill. It will go something like that. I am looking to do more damage standing up than I did against Bill.”
Just like every fight, Ward will be looking to score a stoppage victory. A key for him to score a stoppage victory tonight is to be patient and just wait for Brooks to make a mistake.
“I really just need to stay relax. Be patient, damage whenever I can, and look for a submission,” he said. “Whenever I land it, I have to land it. Not really looking for one thing. This is MMA. This is not wrestling, jiu-jitsu, or kickboxing. I just need one mistake to capitalize and finish.”