Brennan Ward of Waterford will take on Tamdan McCrory of Binghamton, N.Y., in a Bellator Mixed Martial Arts middleweight feature fight Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The 26-year-old Ward, who is 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, is 9-2 in his career. A former Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling champion at Waterford High, Ward went on to become an All-America wrestler at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, finishing second at 184 pounds at the 2010 Division III national championships.

Most notably in his MMA career, Ward won the Bellator Season 9 Middleweight Tournament in Thackerville, Okla., beating Mikkel Parlo by technical knockout for that honor on Nov. 8, 2013. In the ensuing title shot against Alexander Shlemenko earlier this year, Ward's last fight before this one, he lost by submission in the second round.

Ward will fight McCrory (11-3) on the preliminary card beginning at 6 p.m. and streaming live on Spike.com.

The main card, headlined by a featherweight title fight between reigning champion Pat Curran and challenger Patricio Pitbull, will begin at 8 p.m. and be televised live on Spike TV.

- Vickie Fulkerson