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 Crusies 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.


Jeffrey 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.

5-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.

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.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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