After losing the Bellator welterweight championship to Yaroslav Amosov in February, Logan Storley was looking to make a statement when he faced Brennan Ward in the Bellator 298 main event on Friday night. Storley delivered that statement in emphatic fashion, dominating Ward on the ground before scoring a TKO in the second round.
Ward connected well with his left hand early in the fight, forcing Storley into an early takedown attempt. However, Ward scored a big early victory by threatening a choke to allow him to scramble back to standing and show that he was prepared to grapple with the former champion.
Ward stuffed another takedown and connected with clean punches until Storley was able to counter a Ward scramble to fully secure his first meaningful takedown of the fight. Storley didn't do much from top position in the opening round, mostly maintaining control for nearly three minutes and landing short punches to the body until the end of the frame.
The second round was a near copy of the first the same except for Storley showing a much more vicious streak when he finally took the Ward down.
Logan Storley gets his 9th knockout victory! @storleystorm#Bellator298 is LIVE on @Showtime! pic.twitter.com/VkHWzT4SQF
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) August 12, 2023
Ward again opened the round tagging Storley with hard jabs and the occasional uppercut or straight. Storley was clearly outclassed on the feet, but his wrestling was the deciding factor in the fight. Once Ward allowed Storley to get inside, Storley dipped and scored the double-leg takedown.
Storley threw his ground and pound strikes with more intention in the second round, using his shots to advance in position and land heavy elbows and punches. Ward survived a few flurries before Storley was able to pour on enough damage that referee Jason Herzog jumped in to call a halt to the bout.
Storley entered the fight as the No. 1 ranked welterweight in the official Bellator rankings. The victory advanced Storley's career record to 15-2, with the losses both coming to Yaroslav Amosov, the most recent of which ended Storley's brief run as interim champion.
Storley said he still is looking at getting a third crack at Amosov and a chance to regain the championship.
"We have to see how the division kind of unfolds," Storley said after his win. "My goal was to go 2-0 after the Amosov fight and get my belt back."
