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If one thing is certain, nothing can rattle the 25-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Logan Storley. At the moment, he’s proving to be one of the best welterweight contenders in the sport, as he’s undefeated through his first eight bouts.
“For me, it’s just going out there and doing what I’ve done my whole life. That’s just competing at a high level and getting the win,” the wrestling ace told MMAjunkie in an interview. Storley added, “The most important thing is to continue to rack up wins. At that point, if you keep winning, there’s not much to say. Whether it’s all wrestling, all knockouts, or all whatever, it doesn’t matter. You’re winning.”
For one of the most dominant fighters in the ring, he has one simple mission: To become the next world champion. So, let’s take a look at how Storley went from being a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler to clawing his way into a Bellator title picture.
Logan “Storm” Storley
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Full Name: Logan Storley
Birthdate: September 8, 1992
Age: 25
Birth Place: Roslyn, South Dakota
Height: 5-foot-9
School: University of Minnesota
Early Life
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It should come to no surprise that Storley was born to be a wrestler. Most of what he learned about life, he learned from wrestling. His wrestling career began at the age of 4. When it was time for him to attend Webster High School in South Dakota, he was already the talk of the town. It’s also worth pointing out — as a thriving wrestler — wrestling taught him something important.
Not only did wrestling teach him discipline, humility, the importance of hard work and self-determination — it also taught him teamwork. But at the same time, he knew he was responsible for his own fate, on and off the mat. He sure proved that by quickly excelling at high school and becoming a six-time state champion wrestler with a record of 262-3 at Webster High School.
But that’s not all.
After that, in 2010, he was awarded the Disney Duals MVP after finishing 12-0. A year later, he received the 2011 Jr. Hodge award and was the 2011 South Dakota Dual Schultz winner. So if there is one thing to take away from Storley’s high school journey, it’s that he was measuring himself on a national level and was headed for bigger things.
Despite Storley strongly considered attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he opted to continue his successful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota, where he rose to the occasion as a wrestler.
College Career
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In Storley’s true freshman year, he exploded out of the gate and showed his dominance on the mat, while topping opponent after another. In just his first season wearing the maroon and gold, he was named the ‘Most Exciting Wrestler’ and finishing the season on a high note, 25-9. Although, following his eighth victory that season, he sustained an injury, which resulted in him being sidelined for one month. Despite his injury, he still managed to somehow finish sixth at the NCAA championships. And that should tell you that he’s got a lot of fight left in him.
His sophomore year only got better by being undefeated in both dual and Big Ten play, with a 14-0 dual record and a 7-0 Big Ten record. His other major feats included being given the Fraser Dean “Most Courageous” Award and being named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 26. He went on to finish the season with a 28-5 overall record.
In his junior year, he finished third at NCAA Championships, finished fourth at Big Ten Championships, and finished first at Bison Open with a record of 4-0. Wow. On top of that, he won eight major decisions, with three of them against Big Ten opponents, and a fourth by technical fall. He would finish his third year with a 35-6 overall record.
Last but least, he definitely made his final year of college memorable and finished on good terms. He had 12 victories over ranked wrestlers that were second-most on the team and did not lose a match to any wrestler not ranked in the top 10 nationally. Talk about Storley reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year and a fourth-place finish at NCAA Championships put him in a group of just 10 Gophers who finished collegiate college careers as four-time All-Americans. Not to mention he was the winner of the team’s ‘Most Exciting Wrestler’ Award once again. He would finish his last year at the University of Minnesota with a 31-7 overall record.
But just because Storley had flat-out success as a wrestler, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t born with another special talent. That was Mixed Martial Arts.
Two years after graduating from the University of Minnesota and working his way up the ranks, he made his move to the international stage when he signed with Bellator midway through 2017. One thing he was sure about was that he was 100 percent ready for the increased pressures that come with making a move to a bigger stage. The welterweight fighter definitely proved that in early April of this year.
In his last bout against Joaquin Buckley (8-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), Storley (8-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) smothered him over three rounds to pick up a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Aforementioned, it’s safe to say that Storley has a pretty good chance of becoming a world champ at the age of 27. We shall wait and see.
Storley’s next fight is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 17, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He will be squaring off against A.J. Matthews (9-7-0) in the Bellator 204 event.
