Bellator Returns to South Dakota on Aug. 11 With Storley vs. Ward Headliner

Bellator MMA will be making its annual trip to
Sioux Falls this August.

Per
MMA Junkie on Thursday, the organization is headed to Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, on Aug. 11. The event at the Sanford Pentagon,
currently billed as
Bellator 298, will feature a local in the main attraction. Over
the course of five rounds, welterweights Logan
Storley (14-2) and Brennan
Ward (17-6) will throw down. The only other fight currently
agreed for this show is a featherweight scrap pitting Akhmed
Magomedov (9-1) against Kai Kamaka
III (11-5-1), according to Twitter account Bellator
Zone. News of this event has since been confirmed by
other outlets.

Although born in Roslyn and fighting out of Webster, the match for
Storley in Sioux Falls – about 150 miles away – will be considered
home game. The NCAA wrestling standout from the University of
Minnesota has competed in that building five times in the past,
including twice with Bellator, and he is perfect in those five
outings. Storley last fell short by decision to Yaroslav
Amosov at Bellator 291 in February, where he attempted to unify
his interim welterweight strap with the belt. That loss put an end
to a three-fight win streak that saw “Storm” capture three
decisions over Dante
Schiro, Neiman
Gracie and Michael
Page – the last of those three for the interim crown.

Former Bellator middleweight title challenger Ward moved down to
170 pounds several years ago, but along the way he has taken
several catchweight contests at 175 pounds or above. After a
two-fight stoppage skid in 2017, Ward left the sport claiming
retirement. Although he flirted with bare-knuckle boxing, “Irish
Brennan” overcame drug addiction to become sober. Ward came back to
the promotion in 2022, and he has since knocked out Brandon
Bell, Kassius
Kayne and Sabah
Homasi in the span of about a year. As a pro, Ward’s finish
rate sits at a stellar 94%, which vastly trumps Storley’s 57%.