You wouldn’t have known that Yaroslav
Amosov had been away for more than a year and a half by
watching his performance in the
Bellator 291 headliner.
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Amosov controlled all aspects of his rematch with Logan
Storley on Saturday in Dublin, as he unified the welterweight
belt with a lopsided unanimous decision triumph. It was a far more
decisive victory than his first meeting with Storley — a
split-decision win at Bellator 252 in November 2020. That’s a good
reason for that, Amosov said.
“Before this fight, I said this fight was different. I have many
kilograms that I cut for my first match with Logan,” Amosov said at
the post-fight press conference. “Now I had a very good camp and
recovery as well as different training. Every day I train hard and
become better. I have the best team with me. He’s a very good
fighter, and I knew this. All people who enter the cage are strong,
so if you go in the cage, you’re a high-level fighter. It’s not a
surprise to me, but I’m ready [for everything].”
Amosov is now 27-0 in his professional MMA career, with eight of
those victories coming under the Bellator MMA banner. With wins
over the likes of Storley (twice), Douglas
Lima, Ed Ruth,
Gerald
Harris and Roberto
Soldic, “Dynamo” has compiled an impressive resume. The
dominant win over Storley, a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler,
was arguably his best performance to date. He believes it’s enough
to put him at the top of his weight class, regardless of
promotion.
“Of course [I think I’m the best welterweight in the world]. I am
here,” he said. “If a UFC champion wants to fight, come to
Bellator. Scott Coker will give the contract, and we’ll make the
fight.”
While that debate will likely continue for months to come, what’s
undeniable is that Amosov’s return to the cage was the feel good
story of the weekend. It was Amosov’s first fight since June 2021,
as he went on hiatus to help defend his native Ukraine against
Russian invasion. His victory was likely a welcome reprieve for
people from the war-torn country.
“I feel very good because I waited for this for a long time,”
Amosov said. “I train hard, and I feel a lot of motivation and
responsibility. Now, I relax. I’ll relax after the fight, and I’m
happy because I think I gave my country a good day. It’s the first
time I’ve had big support in the cage. In America, I’ve had
support, but not like today. Many Ukrainian flags, many Ukrainian
people. My uncle, my friends; I see many people. It was a big
support, and it gave me very good energy.”