Bellator 274: Logan Storely hoping to earn next shot at welterweight title with dominant victory over Neiman Gracie
LOGAN STORLEY is determined to put himself into welterweight title contention this weekend with a marquee win over Neiman Gracie.
The Sanford MMA standout will make his first outing of the year against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom early on Saturday morning in the main event of Bellator 274.
On paper, a victory over Gracie – a great-grandson of Brazilian jiu-jitsu pioneer Carlos – would be the biggest on the South Dakotan’s career.
Storely is all too aware of the prestige that would come with a dominant victory over Gracie, which he believes will put him in the mix to face the winner of champion Yaroslav Amosov’s maiden title defence against Michael Venom Page in May.
The Kill Cliff ambassador told SunSport: “I think with a dominating performance – I don’t know why I wouldn’t fight for the title next.
“Douglas Lima just fought those guys and he’s now facing Jason Jackson. It matters what happens with those guys.
“But if I go out there and beat Neiman, I would like to fight for the title next.”
Getting the better of Gracie, however, will be no easy feat – although Storely has been able to call on team-mate Jackson to give him some pointers on how to have his hand raised.
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The 29-year-old said: “I think Jason did a good job against him. It was a weird fight, though. He split his eye open but Jason did a good job of winning positions after that.
“Landing takedowns and controlling him. I saw some of that in there, but at the same time, we also saw how tough Neiman is.
“I know he’s tough, I know he’s one of the best of the world and that’s why we’re gonna meet on February 19 in the centre of the cage to see what happens.”
Unlike most of Gracie’s opponents, Storely has no issue with going to the ground with feared BJJ blackbelt Gracie.
That being said, he doesn’t envisage the fight being the battle of grapplers most fans are expecting, saying: “Usually when it’s a grappler versus grappler, it ends up being a stand-up fight.
“But when it comes to those scrambles and positions, I’m not afraid to go there and I know he’s not afraid to go there.
“It’s really gonna be about who can set that pace, who can win those dominant positions, who can win the scrambles and who can implement the better game-plan in those 25 minutes.”
Preparations with the murderers’ row of elite welterweights – including the likes of UFC stars Gilbert Burns and Michael Chandler – at Sanford is a great source of confidence for Storely going into fight night.
Storely said of Gracie: “His hands looked good in his last fight. I mean, he knocked out Mark Lemminger in his last fight.
“But at the same time, I know I compete against the best guys in the world on a daily basis.
“Gilbert Burns, Vicente Luque, Shavkat Rakhmonov – undefeated guys. Kamaru Usman used to be a training partner, Robbie Lawler, Michael Chandler, Jason Jackson – all these guys.
“There are probably 10 or 15 guys that ranked in the top 30 in the world at welterweight. So that being said, iron sharpens iron.
“And when you go against the best in the world on a daily basis, you’re gonna get more confident. That’s what happens. I’m confident in my skills.
“I’ve had a team-mate – Jason Jackson – who has already fought Neiman. I helped him get ready for that fight and he’s helping me get ready for this one.
“At the end of the day, a fight is a fight – anything can happen. But I know if I keep my focus, set that pace for 25 minutes and go out there and not be worried about winning or losing, I’ll have my hand raised.”
Storely’s return to the win column against Dante Schiro last August was in part down to him no longer focusing too much on the strengths of his opposition – which he was self-admittedly guilty of in his defeat to Amosov in November 2020.
He said: “That’s something I’ve stopped worrying about and just focused on putting in 100 per cent effort and taking risks – smart risks – and letting things go.
“And when I do that, things usually turn out really well for me.
“I need to get back to that; pushing the pace, throwing hard and just fighting my fight.”
Logan Storely spoke to SunSport as part of his ambassador role for Kill Cliff and Get Biofuel, an initiative from the supporters of renewable, plant-based biofuels, the Clean Energy Team is leading a movement of positive change.
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