Logan Storley Bellator MMA 197 Interview: ‘My Shots Will Land’
Logan Storley Bellator MMA 197 Interview
Logan Storley (7-0) enters the cage tomorrow night at Bellator 197 to fight Joaquin Buckley (8-1) on the main card, which will be aired live on Paramount Network from The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. Bellator 197 will host 14 bouts on the card and will be headlined by Michael Chandler and Brandon Girtz.
Storley will be competing in his third fight under the Bellator banner tomorrow night and seeks his eighth career victory. Six out of the seven wins in his professional career come by the way of TKO. This will be Storley’s toughest contest in his young career, as he will be battling Buckley in his home state of Missouri.
“It’s just another fight,” Storley said when asked about the challenges Buckley presents in their upcoming matchup. The former collegiate all-American also acknowledged that Buckley is a southpaw, which is a little different from what he’s seen in past bouts.
Buckley is entering his fifth bout under the Bellator MMA banner and is on a two-fight win streak, posting a 3-1 record in Bellator. Buckley is training out of Finny’s Hit Squad of St. Louis.
As Storley is set to face his toughest competition, the “Storm” is confident against anyone he’ll meet inside the cage and believes he’s the best welterweight in Bellator.
“the keys to my success have been just being around really, really good guys,” Storley told My MMA News when asked what have been the keys to his success. At Power MMA, Storley trains alongside light heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader, in addition to Seth “Polish Pistola” Baczynski, Gray Maynard, and C.B. Dollaway. The former Golden Gopher also believes that a key to his success and finishes is his stamina. “Extending that energy, where some guys are afraid to spend that energy if they don’t get that finish in the fight, I guess that’s where I’ve been able to get a lot of those finishes. If I spend a lot of energy, that’s fine because I know I’m able to go hard for another 12 minutes.”
The “Storm” Storley fights out of Power MMA in Gilbert, Arizona. Storley is a former four-time All-American wrestler out of the University of Minnesota. The former Golden Gopher is one of the many fighters that Scott Coker and Bellator scooped up seeing the potential in the young prospect.
Storley is a fighter that likes to keep his roots alive in his style of fighting by habitually wrestling 2-4 times a week and live wrestling at least twice a week throughout fight camp, in addition to grappling. Leading up to fight camp, the former NCAA wrestling All-American will visit his alma mater for about two weeks to roll around with numerous talented wrestlers that the University of Minnesota produces.
“once you lose your wrestling, it’s hard to get it back to where it was,” Said Storley. Even though Storley is known as a wrestler and a grappler, he has six TKO finishes in his MMA career. Similar to fellow Bellator welterweight, Storley has utilized his takedowns and punished opponents with ground-and-pound. “we have to keep taking care of what got us there,”
Storley vs. Hummel in Second Career MMA Fight
How Important is it for MMA Promotions to Recruit NCAA Wrestlers
“It’s huge, wrestlers are great. They make great employees,” Storley said. He talks about how wrestlers always show up on weight, they act a certain way, and after collegiate wrestling, MMA provides a great way for the athletes to make a living. Unless a wrestler wants to pursue an Olympic title or world title, there isn’t much for them. MMA creates another avenue that has allowed wrestlers to thrive and fans can expect to see the transition of NCAA wrestlers making their way into a cage. Kyle Snyder, a three-time NCAA heavyweight champion, World champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist, just finished his senior year and has discussed taking the leap onto the MMA stage.
Mental Toughness – Speaking with J Robinson
Very much like wrestling, mixed martial arts is a sport that requires a great deal of mental toughness. The athletes train with a team, but when competing they are on their own and this is when mental toughness is required. Fighting through tough positions which in other sports a teammate can help bail them out.
To combat the mental fatigue MMA hits its fighters with, Storley speaks with his former NCAA wrestling coach, Jay Robinson. Robinson is a man that understands mental toughness as he has led the Golden Gophers to three NCAA team titles, six Big Ten titles, and developed 14 individual NCAA national champions over his 30-year career. High school athletes from all across the country attend J Robinson’s camp for weeks at a time in Fargo, North Dakota. It’s known as a grueling, intense camp that tests the mental toughness of each athlete more than anything. After completing the camp, athletes are awarded a shirt which states “I Did It”, which are worn with pride.
“With him (Robinson) its a lot of mental things, I’ll call him and he’ll put life back into perspective,” Storley said. Storley looks to speak with Robinson at least once every two months. He told My MMA News they speak about what they did in college, everyday life, what needs to happen and helps balance Storley’s mind. “whether it’s life, MMA or anything like that, he’s very good at putting everything in perspective and making you realize what’s truly important, so that’s why I keep in touch with him for every camp that I do,”
What Can Fans Expect
When asked what fans can expect from the undefeated fighter facing Buckley, Storley was very blunt in his answer. He informed us that fans can expect a high pace bout. He’s a fighter that likes to move forward and knows he’ll score his takedowns. The Power MMA fighter applies pressure on his opponents, wearing them down to exhaustion.
“My shots will land. Once he gets tired it will leave stuff open on our feet, that’s when I’ll really capitalize,” Finishing six out of the seven opponents he’s faced, if Storley can execute, fans can expect another finish by the welterweight, throwing him into title contentions.
Logan Storley isn’t a fighter looking past his opponent, Buckley. He mentioned he likes to take it one fight at a time. Though he did say, depending on how the division shakes out, he could be “2 to 3, possibly 4” fights away from a title bout.
At 7-0 in his career and entering his third fight in Bellator, Storley is on the right path to finding himself in a title bout. The only thing currently holding him back from a title shot is his lack of fights within the organization. Though like the former Golden Gopher mentioned, 2 to 3 fights and there is no way Scott Coker can ignore a 9-0 or 10-0 record in the division and not allow him to challenge for the belt.
One Things Fans Didn’t Really Know About Storley
Logan Storley grew up in the small town of Webster, South Dakota. He was raised on a farm and Webster is a tiny town with a population of roughly 50 people. The Bellator welterweight can be followed on twitter at @storleystorm.
Past Fight
Buckley’s Thoughts on Storley
