Charlie Ward vs. Jamie Stephenson booked for Bellator 217 in Dublin

MMAfighting.com

Charlie Ward will take on Jamie Stephenson on the main card of Bellator 217 in Dublin, Ireland on Feb. 23.

Bellator confirmed the middleweight fight to MMAFighting.com on Tuesday.

Ward (5-3-0) has claimed two victories in as many outings under the Bellator banner since his signing in 2017. His most recent victory came in London, England at Bellator 200 when he took on late replacement Martin Hudson, who he finished with ground and pound in the first round.

“Relentless” scored a TKO win over now SBG teammate, John Redmond, in his Bellator debut in November 2017. The bout went viral when Conor McGregor scaled the cage fence in an effort to celebrate with Ward, his close friend and teammate.

Ahead of his signing to Bellator, Ward registered a 0-2 record in the UFC’s Octagon having been signed as a 3-1 middleweight. He suffered first-round defeats to Abdul Razak Alhassan and Galore Bofando.

Stephenson (4-2-0) will make his debut in the Irish capital on the night and goes into the contest on the back of his first round of Rastislav Toth at M4TC 25 in November 2017, which snapped a two-fight skid for the British middleweight.

Ahead of his return bout against Toth, Stephenson had not contested a bout since May 2014, when he succumbed to Alex Minogue’s first-round rear-naked choke.

All four of Stephenson’s wins have come by way of stoppage.