DUBLIN – Logan Storley believes two extra rounds with Yaroslav Amosov will be the deciding factor at Bellator 291.
Interim welterweight champion Storley (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) will look to unify his belt with champ Amosov (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in Saturday’s main event at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Amosov handed Storley the lone loss of his career, defeating him by split decision in a grueling back-and-forth grappling match in November 2020. Now the pair will run things back – and they get 10 more minutes to decide a winner for the undisputed title.
“You have to put things together, not just diving in on a shot” Storley told MMA Junkie and other reporters Thursday at Bellator 291 media day. “Using your hands, setting things up and winning those scrambles and winning those small situations where you don’t let him get the upper hand and score on the judges’ scorecards.
“I think that’s really what this fight will come down to is those small positions and who can continue to push this pace for 25 minutes because that first fight, we were both dog tired at the end of 15, and it was a lot of wrestling.”
Since losing to Amosov, Storley rebounded with back-to-back decision wins over Neiman Gracie and Michael Page. Storley banked on two-straight five round fights – slugging it out with Gracie and outwrestling Page to capture the interim title.
Looking back at his loss to Amosov, he chalks it up to slipping up in a game of inches.
“It’s a few small scrambles and positions where I let him get a more dominant position,” Storley said. “I would get a dominant position, and it kind of went back and forth. So this fight, I need to make sure that those positions are mine, and really I think that’s what it’ll come down to – and the 25 minutes.
“There’s a big difference when you walk out for Round 4 and Round 5 compared to just 15 minutes. So, I’m excited, and I’m ready. I know I did a lot of – not majorly different, but 25 minutes is different, and I’ve been through two of those fights in the last year, and I know that my body is ready.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
