Ward vs Shipman

Who won Ward vs Shipman?

Mike Shipman beat Charlie Ward by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of Bellator Dublin, on Saturday 25th February 2023 at 3Arena Dublin in Dublin.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Mike Shipman.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Ward vs Shipman stats

Charlie Ward stepped into the octagon with a record of 10 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Mike Shipman made his way to the cage with a record of 14 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 5 by submission.

Mike Shipman marked his 10th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2016.

Charlie Ward's Bellator record stood at 7-4-0, while Mike Shipman's came in at 7-3-0.

The stats suggested Ward had a slight advantage in power over Shipman, with a 60% knock out percentage over Shipman's 57%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Shipman had a massive advantage over Ward, boasting a 36% submission rate over Ward's 0%.

Charlie Ward was the same age as Mike Shipman, at years old.

Ward had a height advantage of 1 inch over Shipman.

Ward was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 3 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 1 year and 9 months later than Shipman, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 5 more professional rounds, 37 to Shipman's 32.

Ward vs Shipman form

Ward had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Fabian Edwards at Bellator Milan on 29th October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Allianz Cloud Arena, Milan, Italy.

Previous to that, he had won against Alan Carlos at Bellator 281 on 13th May 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at SSE Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Andy Manzolo at Bellator Euro Series 9 on 3rd October 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Allianz Cloud, Milan, Italy.

Before that, he had defeated Kyle Kurtz at Bellator 240 on 22nd February 2020 by knockout in the 3rd round at 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland.

He was victorious against Justin Moore at Bellator 223 on 22nd June 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at SSE Arena, London, England.

Shipman had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Gregory Babene at Bellator 280 on 6th May 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, he had won against Pietro Penini at Bellator Euro Series 8 on 26th September 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Allianz Cloud, Milan, Italy.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Fabian Edwards at Bellator London on 23rd November 2019 by split decision in their 3 round contest at SSE Arena, London, England.

Before that, he had lost to Costello van Steenis at Bellator 223 on 22nd June 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at SSE Arena, London.

He had beaten Carl Noon at Bellator 200 on 25th May 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at SSE Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Charlie Ward had been fighting more than Mike Shipman.

Going to this contest, Charlie Ward had last fought 1 year, 8 months and 25 days ago, while Mike Shipman's last outing had been 2 years, 2 months and 18 days ago.

Ward's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 1 month and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Shipman's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 1 month and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Ward vs Shipman?

Charlie Ward was a 31/20 (+160) underdog going into the contest, while Mike Shipman made his way into the ring at 4/9 (-230) with oddsmakers.