University of Minnesota Athletics
Catching Up with Logan Storley
4/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Watch the Full Fight Here
Logan Storley is coming off his Bellator 197 victory over Joaquin Buckley, where he won by unanimous decision in St. Charles, Mo. The welterweight sat down with GopherSports.com to discuss his latest fight, his wrestling background and his future in fighting.
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GopherSports.com: Hey Logan, so they way that things have gone for you, you've had a pretty successful MMA career, how did things start for you? Is it something that you've always wanted to do or did the opportunity just come up after graduation?
Logan Storley: I have always been involved in the sport of MMA, since eighth grade watching Brock Lesnar, being from the same hometown. Then, being around him my freshman, sophomore, and junior year of high school, being around his training camps, seeing him win the UFC title, and so, this is kind of what I wanted to do. And when I got to college, I had four years here to take care of business. After NCAA's my senior year, I signed with my agent and I fought in August of 2015. So, that's kind of how my MMA career took off.
GS: So, it seems like it all happened pretty quickly and you've been pretty successful so far. Is that pretty much thanks to your background and kind of growing up knowing that this is what you wanted to do?
LS: Yeah, it's a different sport than wrestling but I've been involved for years, watching it, I had three amatuer fights in high school. I put a lot of time into this sport, just like wrestling, obviously wrestling I've been doing since I was five years old, so, I've had twenty years of experience in wrestling. But, there's a lot of mental things that wrestling and MMA cross over, the mental toughness and being able to grind through a five, six month season. It's one of the hardest things in the world, going through a Division I, Big Ten schedule. I had to do that for four years, without a break, doesn't matter how you're feeling. Going into the sport of MMA, my schedule is pretty easy now compared to what it was in college and that's the biggest thing that I take with me.
GS: Obviously, Brock Lesnar, same hometown, same school, is this something that you relish being compared to him or would you rather make your own way?
LS: Yeah, I mean, it's great. He's a big name in MMA and the wrestling world, but, I'm doing my own thing. We're different people, different weight classes, and so, I was happy to be able to go to him when I was young and ask him questions and see it first hand, he's such a high level fighter and wrestler. But, we're definitely on two different paths.
GS: Now, that's obviously a really good start for your MMA career. What are your goals moving forward? Where do you see yourself in MMA, two, three years down the road?
LS: Since I started this sport at twenty-three, I always said that I wanted to be World Champ by the time I'm twenty-seven. So, that's get me a year and half to get me to where I want to be. And being 3-0 in Bellator, you know, I'm right where I want to be. I have three fights left on this contract, and then, we'll see what we're going to do next. Whether we stay with Bellator or move the the UFC, Bellator is a great organization, they've taken care of me very well. So, it's a crazy sport, you never know where you're going to end up or what might happen, but, I have my sights set on being World Champ by the time I'm twenty-seven.
GS: Now, explain to me your style of fight in the MMA. I heard Trenten say on the way over here that you don't always have the crowd behind you because you do rely on your wrestling roots but, that seems like a pretty successful way for you to fight so hard.
LS: Yeah, it's very simple. There are a lot of high level wrestlers in the sport of MMA but, not very many people can do what I do. That's the simple truth. If it were that easy, there would be a lot more high level wrestlers being very successful. But, that's not the case. It is what it is. I fought a kid, and he was a hometown guy, so it didn't matter what I did, I wasn't going to be a favorite there. It just comes down to, I've been a part of this sport since I was thirteen, fourteen years old, that's eleven years. I'm very good with what I do at wrestling, and it's made me very successful. I have no shame in it. I'm proud to say I'm a wrestler, I'm proud to represent the University of Minnesota and the state of South Dakota when I go out there and compete.
GS: You mentioned that your schedule is very different than when you were a college wrestler. What are the biggest differences between being in college and getting ready for that grind versus having six months to prepare for one fight?
LS: Yeah, it's trying to compete and peak every Friday and Sunday night during Dual season, and then, you're competing in the room, you wrestle live a lot, whereas, MMA, practices are ran differently. This is also what I do for a living so, I do have two to three practices a day. So, it's give and take. I still spend a lot of time here at the University of Minnesota, I still come back and wrestle before each camp, get ready for my eight-week training camp. So, just the biggest thing is, in college, you're still going to school, you're traveling every weekend, and you're still making weight every weekend. Where, in MMA, I only make weight, and fight three to four times a year and with wrestling, I competed forty times a year. That's a big difference, where people don't understand why college wrestling is so hard.
GS: You said that you do get to come back to the University of Minnesota every once in a while. How much pride do you have to represent the university, because you were such a successful wrestler here in college.
LS: Yeah, it's big. You see Oklahoma State, and they talk a lot about the guys they've had in the sport of MMA and obviously, we've had Brock and some other guys fight in UFC and Bellator. You're representing the University of Minnesota when I go out there, with the way that I wrestle and the way that I fight. So, that's big to me, and that's a chip on our shoulder to keep climbing and put Minnesota on the map for wrestlers in the sport of MMA.
GS: What's next for you immediately? Obviously, we talked a little bit about fights and stuff but what are your immediate goals for the next couple of months?
LS: So, I'll take a little time, two to three weeks, then I'll go back to South Florida and I'll start getting ready slowly. Then, you sign a fight, and we'll see who they give me, but each time you go in there and compete, it's a step up. So, it'll be one step closer to getting to that championship fight. It's just about getting better, and putting all these pieces together, I'm still young in this sport, very young. So, it's a learning process and we're just starting to climb the ladder right now.
Players Mentioned
