Bellator 274: Logan Storley calls for title shot after defeating Neiman Gracie

American welterweight contender Logan Storley scored the most significant win of his MMA career, then called for a shot at the Bellator title.

Four-time NCAA All-American wrestler Storley, 29, defeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former title challenger Neiman Gracie, 33, via unanimous decision in the main event of Bellator 274 in Connecticut, and immediately set his sights on a title shot at 170 pounds.

The bout marked the first time Bellator MMA had hosted a non-title main event bout over the full five-round duration and, after three rounds of steady back-and-forth striking, the bout exploded into life in the fourth round.

First, Gracie appeared to badly hurt Storley with a punch to the eye. But, after the American gamely fended off the Brazilian's attempt to finish the fight, Storley struck back with big punches of his own that eventually sent Gracie to the canvas.

However, like Gracie earlier in the round, Storley was unable to finish the fight, meaning the bout headed into the final round with the result still hanging in the balance.

And, after Storley pushed the pace on Gracie for the majority of the final five minutes, the bout went to the judges, who all scored the bout in the American's favour with scores of 48-47, 50-45, 49-46.

«I'm a fighter now. That proved it right there,» said Storley following his victory in Uncasville.

«Any doubt I ever had about taking a punch [or] fighting the best guys — that was the number four guy in the world, and I just beat him. That was 25 minutes on the feet — that was the most fun I've ever had competing in my life, I'll say that.»

Storley's win improved his record to 13-1, with his lone defeat coming via split decision to current welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov.

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