Logan Storley Edges MVP, Seizes Interim Welterweight Title at Bellator 281

Bellator MMA’s return to SSE Arena in London saw an American imposing his will on British soil.

The headliner featured an interim welterweight championship affair between Michael Page and Logan Storley as 170-pound titleholder Yaroslav Amosov is involved with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. From the opening seconds of the fight, it was clear that Storley (14-1, 9-1 Bellator) wouldn’t exchange with "Venom" on the feet as the American relied on his wrestling and moved the action to the canvas. "Storm" didn't secure much damage, but he kept himself busy and constantly looked to improve his position. Page (20-2, 16-2 Bellator) scored a few points thanks to his peculiar style in Round 2, but he couldn’t prevent his foe’s takedown attempts. Page smiled every time he was taken down while Storley accumulated some precious control time.

Round 4 was the closest round for the Page as he connected with several weapons in his arsenal while his adversary looked to have slowed down. However, Storley caught a second wind and pushed for a takedown in Round 5, where all the action happened on the floor. Page couldn’t bounce back to his feet despite his efforts, and Storley ended the clash on top. Eventually, the scorecards were split as judge David Lethaby scored it 48-47 for Page, while judges Bryan Miner and Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Storley, who took home a split-decision win, the interim championship and his third straight triumph.

𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 💥@fabianedwards24 stops MMA veteran @lyotomachidafw at the @OVOArena.#Bellator281 LIVE on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 and @bbcthree 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/H6Ha0DfgAH

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 13, 2022

The co-main event featured a middleweight affair between Fabian Edwards and former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound titleholder Lyoto Machida. It took little less than four minutes for the younger brother of Leon Edwards to solve the Brazilian enigma. Edwards (10-2, 6-2 Bellator) stayed out of his opponent’s reach until he caught a careless kick by Machida and moved the action against the fence. “The Dragon” disengaged once, but Edwards insisted on grappling near the cage. The British fighter’s strategy paid off when “The Assassin” landed an elbow on the temple of his foe, leaving him on wobbly legs. Edwards pushed forward with more punches until he dropped Machida (26-12, 2-4 Bellator) on the canvas unconscious. The referee showed mercy at the 3:18 mark.

𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝘼 𝙏𝙖𝙥 💥🇯🇵@kanawatanabe821 submits @Denisekielholtz to return to winning ways inside the Bellator cage.#Bellator281 LIVE on @SHOsports 🇺🇸, @bbcthree 🇬🇧 and @UNEXT_fight 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/gEctAqOFhD

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 13, 2022

Elsewhere, Kana Watanabe (11-1-1, 3-1 Bellator) submitted Denise Kielholtz (6-4, 5-4 Bellator) with a triangle choke at 3:03 of Round 2 in their women’s flyweight affair; Paul Daley (43-18-2, 10-5 Bellator) scored an impressive comeback knockout-victory by crushing Wendell Giacomo (9-3, 0-1 Bellator) with punches at 4:09 of Round 2 in the retirement fight of “Semtex;” Simon Biyong (8-2, 1-1 Bellator) imposed his will over Luke Trainer (5-1, 2-1 Bellator) en route to a unanimous decision (29-27, 28-27, 29-28) in their 205-pound tilt.

Related » Bellator 281 Round-by-Round Scoring

On the preliminary card, former Bellator 145-pound titleholder Daniel Weichel (42-13, 11-5 Bellator) stopped Robert Whiteford (16-5, 1NC; 1-1, 1NC Bellator) with punches that halted the contest 72 seconds out of the gate; Elina Kallionidou (9-4, 2-2 Bellator) smashed Kate Jackson (11-6-1, 3-4 Bellator) with punches at the 4:53 mark of Round 2; UFC alum Oliver Enkamp (11-3, 4-1) forced Mark Lemminger (12-5, 2-4 Bellator) to tap with a rare buggy choke 25 seconds into the third period at welterweight; the lightweight clash between Alfie Davis (14-4-1, 5-1-1 Bellator) and Tim Wilde (14-4-1, 1-2-1 Bellator) ended up in a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28); 145-pounder Andrew Fisher (19-8-1, 1NC; 2-2, 1NC Bellator) upended Attila Korkmaz (12-7, 0-1 Bellator) on the scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 29-28); Charlie Ward (10-4, 7-1 Bellator) took a unanimous decision over Alan Carlos (13-10, 0-1 Bellator), who missed weight by 3.2 pounds ahead of their initial middleweight-scheduled affair; Maciej Rozanski (14-3, 1-0 Bellator) outpointed former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Lee Chadwick (27-16-1, 3-3 Bellator) on all three scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in their 205-pound tilt; strawweight Chiara Penco (7-3, 3-2 Bellator) outstroke Lanchana Green (4-5-1, 0-1 Bellator) en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).