LONG BD for those unfamiliar with Galore Bofando...If you believe it's too long or don't want to read it just skip it. Sorry for the length though.
Charlie Ward (3-1) vs. Galore Bofando (4-2)
Charlie Ward enters this fight with a 3-2 record and is a member of the estimable SBG Ireland training squad. Sharing a gym with Conor McGregor and Coach John Kavanaugh, Gunnar Nelson and crew, the uber-strong Ward is surrounded by an excellent team. Specifically, it was essentially this camp that catapulted a middling Ward into the preeminent mixed martial arts promotion in the world. Though he is not a tomato can, Ward is also not proven himself to be ready for primetime as he entered the UFC with a paltry 3-1 professional record. Forcing your way to the front of the line as a then 35-year-old fighter without any major wins or athletic accomplishments to speak of is a rarity indeed.
At any rate, here we are, and regardless of how he got here, it didn't take long for Charlie to realize just how deep the waters were that he was now swimming in. In his first fight in the UFC the org tossed him to welterweight prospect Abdul Razak Alhassan who blitzed the MMA neophyte to get him out of there in less than a minute. Twice now Ward has been thrown to the wolves as In his MMA debut (0-0) he fought up a division vs. Welsh MW knockout artist John Phillips who was already a 20-fight veteran. That was a 19-6 record to be exact.
Still yet, the sparse footage of Ward competing indicates that he's got some talent to work with. If coach Kavanaugh and his stable of SBG killers can round out the rough edges, Ward stands a chance of picking up a couple of wins before getting handed the inevitable pink slip.
Ward comes from a boxing background and is physically strong as an ox. However, he lacks any type of diversity and against more technical opposition his skills look amateurish. There is a lot of work to be done with Ward and at his it advanced age there's not much time to do it.
This time Ward is going to have another tough fight but it is one which is on a bit more level playing field in regards to age and MMA experience. Still yet, Ward is once again he's taking on another bonafide killer unknown to the general public but an absolute assassin nonetheless.
Galore Bofando has won four of his last five fights and is coming in having smoked UCMMA fighter Kester Mamba in the opening frame. An offensive juggernaut, Bofando is an athletic marvel with superhero aesthetics. The newcomer sports serious core strength and is a fantastic striker with astonishing power in all four limbs combined with all eight points.
Further examination of the debutant is in order. So who exactly is Galore Bofando?
- Made his pro debut in 2010.
- The last time Bofando fought was on February 7th, 2015.
- He has only fought once since 2012.
- He has three TKO/KO wins on his record.
- His two losses were via DQ due to illegal strikes.
- His biggest win was a first round KO win over Wendle Lewis who was 5-0 at the time.
- All his opponents to date have a combined record of 23-39-1 and 1 NC.
- Is a dangerous kickboxer and has fought a few K1 fights in between MMA contests.
Shout out to the fine folks at combatgear.com who helped me produce the aforementioned information. Their legwork helped in assisting with my breakdown.
All told, Bofando is an absolutely phenomenal striker the likes of which the UFC has rarely seen. So, perhaps Cung Le and/or Stephen Thompson is close, but still not as acrobatic and/or ostentatious. Bofando fights with an awkward Kung Fu-esque / Karate style interspersed with bits of Sanshou. He will attack with a plethora of spinning and flying techniques that often leave his opponents bewildered and watching instead of firing back. These flashy maneuvers are often window dressing as to setup the true assault. Indeed, his unorthodox attacks successfully place his adversary off balance where he can then finish them with a conventional boxing or Muay-Thai strike.
For instance in the GIF below he'll throw a Edson Barbosa-esque spinning heel kick which lands, but not with the force generated to procure the knockout. However, the kick covers distance and breaks through his opponents guard. Ergo, he is now placed himself in prime position to throw a kill shot. For our purposes, the right hook square on the chin. G'nite Sweet Prince!
As the GIF demonstrates, Bofando is essentially a thicker framed version of his London Shootfighting stablemate and BELLATOR human highlight reel Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
However, unlike the Page, the thicker Bofando is physically stronger with better TDD and harder punches. The English fighter will either shrug off the takedown attempt and reset or more commonly make his man pay for daring to enter into his bubble. Once his adversary is in arms reach they are usually met with violent gut busting knees and/or thunderous uppercuts.
Not shying away from the grappling forces his opponent to seriously consider if they want to enter into Bofando's space.
As exciting as he is, there are some red flags concerning Bofando and as bettors we should examine them. First and foremost, Bofando is 35 years old and has only fought SIX times in professional mixed martial arts bouts. What's more, his level of competition has been extremely mediocre as his two most recent opponents have records of 7-19 and 5-10 respectively. Additionally, he's only had three fights in the last seven years. Fighting twice in 2012 and once more in 2015 which was his most recent appearance. Finally, born in the Democratic Republic Congo, Bofando now reps London and has never competed outside of England.
Now, whilst Bofando hasn't seen much action in the mixed martial arts realm over the course of his distinguished fighting career, he has remained active in the gym and is very fit for 35-year-old. There is video out there of him training and he is still a physical anomaly. Here is a link and video showcasing the exquisite physiological visage that is the outlier of all 35-year old outliers Galore Bofando.
Aside from his presently fit physical features, the other asset that Galore commands is self-confidence. Indeed, the Englishman is extremely confident in his own skill set and his mental fortitude plays a vital role in his performances. As such I do not expect Bofando to be shook up by the bright UFC lights in his Octagon debut. In fact, I expect him to thrive under the conditions.
Both of these fighters are relatively the same age at 35 and 36-year-old with Ward as the slightest of elders. The rest of their physical attributes are basically equal. Depending upon where you look, Bofando stands somewhere between 5'10" and 5'11" while Ward is almost exclusively listed as a 5'11" tall fighter. What's more, it appears as if Ward will enjoy an abbreviated 1.5" reach advantage at 72 and 73.5 inches respectively.
Floating around at -220 I believe that Bofando is a pretty solid bet. The only hesitancy being that he's been incredibly inactive throughout his MMA career and it's difficult to predict just where his head and heart is at. Nevertheless, it isn't as if he's taking on a UFC veteran or even a up and coming prospect. Instead the UFC has generously offered Galore up with the most favorable stylistic matchup he could ask for. They positively want him to come out of the gates hot with another scalp for the reel.
Couple this with the fact that Ward is 36 years old and just not that good and things begin to look better for the bet. In addition, consider the fact that his SBG gym is undergoing a whirlwind tour at the moment and probably not in a position to present a one-on-one time and it gets even worse for Ward. The limited Ward already required copious single sessions with his coaches and this is probably the worst time in the gym's history for that kind of assistance.
On the feet it's a squash match. What's more, Bofando is infinitely quicker, more athletic and his technical striking is light years beyond anything Ward has dealt with.
This makes a modest wager on Galore even more appealing.
To borrow a popular phrase from a brash figure, Ward MUST find a way to get this fight to the floor or "
He is Fooked!"
However, it's unlikely that this is going to happen. Ward is not a good wrestler and his grappling is very low level.
Summarily, I like Bofando to get a knock out sometime between the first and secod stanza.
Prediction: Bofando TKO round two
Bet -220 risking 3.5 units