Bellator Returns to South Dakota on Aug. 11 With Storley vs. Ward Headliner

Bellator MMA will be making its annual trip to Sioux Falls this August.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, the organization is headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Aug. 11. The event at the Sanford Pentagon, currently billed as Bellator 298, will feature a local in the main attraction. Over the course of five rounds, welterweights Logan Storley (14-2) and Brennan Ward (17-6) will throw down. The only other fight currently agreed for this show is a featherweight scrap pitting Akhmed Magomedov (9-1) against Kai Kamaka III (11-5-1), according to Twitter account Bellator Zone. News of this event has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Although born in Roslyn and fighting out of Webster, the match for Storley in Sioux Falls – about 150 miles away – will be considered home game. The NCAA wrestling standout from the University of Minnesota has competed in that building five times in the past, including twice with Bellator, and he is perfect in those five outings. Storley last fell short by decision to Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 291 in February, where he attempted to unify his interim welterweight strap with the belt. That loss put an end to a three-fight win streak that saw “Storm” capture three decisions over Dante Schiro, Neiman Gracie and Michael Page – the last of those three for the interim crown.

Former Bellator middleweight title challenger Ward moved down to 170 pounds several years ago, but along the way he has taken several catchweight contests at 175 pounds or above. After a two-fight stoppage skid in 2017, Ward left the sport claiming retirement. Although he flirted with bare-knuckle boxing, “Irish Brennan” overcame drug addiction to become sober. Ward came back to the promotion in 2022, and he has since knocked out Brandon Bell, Kassius Kayne and Sabah Homasi in the span of about a year. As a pro, Ward’s finish rate sits at a stellar 94%, which vastly trumps Storley’s 57%.

James Gallagher vs Cris Lencioni Valentin Moldavsky vs Steve Mowry Aaron Jeffery vs Dalton Rosta Sidney Outlaw vs Islam Mamedov Lucas Brennan vs Weber Almeida Michael Blockhus vs Eli Mefford Alfie Davis vs Aalon Cruz Dayana Silva vs Katerina Shakalova Max Rohskopf vs Jairo Pacheco Jerrell Hodge vs Marcirley Alves da Silva James Gallagher vs James Gonzalez Marcirley Alves da Silva vs Jerrell Hodge Bryce Meredith vs Alberto Rodriguez Sullivan Cauley vs Cedric Terrell Savage Imamshafi Aliev vs Anthony Adams Kai Kamaka III vs Akhmed Magomedov Enrique Barzola vs Jaylon Bates Leandro Higo vs Nikita Mikhailov Jordan Oliver vs Andrew Triolo