Logan Storley Dispatches Brennan Ward in Front of Hometown Crowd at Bellator 298

SEEEEEK AND DESTROOOOOYYY! 😱🔥🔥

Logan Storley aplica uma chuva de ossos em Branna Ward e fica com a vitória na luta principal! 🔥💀

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Logan Storley unleashed a hurricane of punishment on Brennan Ward in the Bellator 298 main event at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Fall, South Dakota.

Storley, a South Dakota native, electrified the crowd after taking Ward to the ground and dominating him with repeated punches and elbow strikes before referee Jason Herzog was forced to call it 4:05 into the second round.

Fresh off his defeat in the rematch with champion Yaroslav Amosav, Storley wasted little time on Friday. Ward came in riding high off a 3-fight knockout streak but wasn’t given a chance to unload.

Moldavsky Cruises in Lackluster Rematch

In an attempt to settle the score after their first meeting ended in a no contest, heavyweights Valentin Moldavsky and Steve Mowry settled their business.

Moldavsky would leave the cage with bragging rights after outwrestling Mowry over 15 minutes en route to a clear, but underwhelming unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,30-27).

Mowry spent most of the fight on his back while the crowd voiced their displeasure. Neither man separated themselves from the rest of the division. Mowry (10-1-1) took his first loss and Moldavsky picked up his first victory since 2021.

Related » Bellator 298 Round-by-Round Scoring

Jeffery Outhustles Rosta

Middleweight contender Aaron Jeffery admitted that he “sh*t the bed” in his decision loss to John Salter last March. Looking to bounce back, Jeffery put on an unbelievable pace to upset undefeated prospect Dalton Rosta (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Jeffery’s pace and top control gave him an edge in all three rounds despite not putting Rosta (8-1) in any serious trouble. Unfortunately for Rosta, there wasn’t much he could do with Jeffery forcing him to defensively grapple.

Polarizing Gallagher Slips By Gonzalez

It was a long two years away from the cage for James Gallagher.

James Gonzalez nearly ruined Gallagher’s return in a back-and-forth scrap that ultimately went in Gallagher’s favor (29-28, 28-29, 28-29). Gonzalez immediately cracked Gallagher (12-2) with a spinning elbow to start the fight and landed punches from the ground all night.

Gallagher’s best work came by way of his grappling. He kept Gonzalez pinned for most of the first two rounds but was dominated in Round 3. The result was up in the air after the final bell but Gallagher’s grappling over the first two rounds would ultimately be prioritized over Gonzalez’s punches.

Outlaw Runs Wrestling Clinic on Mamedov

It’s been over two years since Sidney Outlaw found a win in the cage but victory, nor Islam Mamedov, could escape him on Friday.

Outlaw clung to Mamedov and ragdolled him on the ground for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

It was an impressive performance for Outlaw, who hasn’t been in the cage since July 2022. Outlaw was supposed to compete in the lightweight world Grand Prix but received a six-month suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

#Bellator298 Official Result: #8-Lucas Brennan (9-0) defeated Weber Almeida (7-2) via KO at 3:32 of round three pic.twitter.com/12djVl8XH4

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 12, 2023

Five-Star Prospect Brennan Connects with Hail Mary Knee

Undefeated prospect Lucas Brennan was potentially 90 seconds away from being brought down to Earth and suffering his first defeat as a pro. Brennan, however, would dig deep and pull out the biggest win of his career after knocking out Weber Almeida in the third round of their featherweight clash (3:32).

Brennan could be one of the brightest future stars in Bellator but Almeida picked apart glaring holes in the 23-year-old’s striking. Brennan tried desperately to take the fight to the mat but Almeida was determined to land leather.

After recovering from a first-round knockdown, Brennan began to find his rhythm in Round 2 but Almeida’s karate background clearly gave him trouble. It would take a third round to decide if “Skywalker” would leave the cage undefeated.

Still determined to find a finish on the ground, Brennan locked up with Almeida late in the final stanza before slipping in a deceptive rear knee that separated Almeida from his senses. Referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop further damage as Brennan etched the ninth win of his young career.

Barzola Denies Bates

Another undefeated prospect received all he could handle Friday night. Unfortunately for bantamweight contender Jaylon Bates there was no miraculous finish in the cards for the 26-year-old.

Bates was handed his first loss as a professional (7-1) in a frustrating, exhausting loss to seasoned vet Enrique Barzola. Barzola’s gas tank was too much to handle on the ground and Bates seemed lost throughout the fight. Spurred by trainer Antonio McKee to pick up the pace, Bates nearly reversed his luck and pulled out a nasty armbar attempt but Barzola was ready and reversed position.

Bates, zapped of energy, laid helplessly against the cage as Barzola rained down punches until the final bell. With the win Barzola could see himself back in the conversation in the bantamweight title picture.

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 to Bellator! 💪

Wrestling prodigy @that_dude_JO gets the job done in his MMA debut.

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Heralded Wrestler Oliver Wins Debut

If you blinked you might’ve missed Jordan Oliver’s Bellator debut. The former two-time NCAA champion wrestler obliterated Andrew Triolo in a just over a minute and wasted little time announcing himself tp the featherweight division.

The 33-year-old May have had a late start in mixed martial arts, but Oliver’s easy arm triangle finish of Triolo shows that there’s no better time than the present.

In other action, Marcirley Alves da Silva took out Jerrell Hodge with a sweeping right hook at 3:53 in the first round of their bantamweight battle. Sullivan Cauley continued the trend of first round finishes with an arm triangle at 4:24 on Hamza Salim in light heavyweight action. Ekaterina Shakalova upstaged and upset Dayana Silva in her Bellator debut by split decision. Alfie Davis snapped Aalon Cruz’s 3-fight win streak in their lightweight clash by unanimous decision. Bantamweights Leandro Higo and Nikita Mikhailov traded submission attempts in Round 1 before Higo sunk in his guillotine the following round. Fedor Emelianenko’s pupil Vladimir Tokov grinded out a tough unanimous decision victory over lightweight Jairo Pacheco. Kasum Kasumov improved to 15-1 in the bantamweight division after and back-and-forth split decision win over Josh Hill. Justine Kish outpointed Diana Avsaragova (missed weight) to improve her stock in the women’s flyweight division.