Another busy weekend sees two fight cards in store for MMASucka staff picks.
Bellator 298 is set for action later tonight, August 11th, from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the promotion’s fourth trip to the city and arena since August of 2018. The preliminary card will begin at 6:25pm ET (3:25pm PT) on Bellator’s YouTube channel with the main card to follow at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) on Showtime.
Live results from Bellator 298: Storley vs. Ward can be found here at MMASucka.
Stay tuned for our staff picks on Saturday the 12th from UFC on ESPN 51: Luque vs. dos Anjos and on Tuesday the 15th from Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 2.
The Fights
Top-ranked welterweights Logan Storley and Brennan Ward will battle across five possible five-minute rounds in the night’s featured headliner.
Looking to rebound sees former interim champion and betting favorite Storley set for his second appearance of 2023 after coming up short to Yaroslav Amosov in a unification bout for the welterweight title last February. The former NCAA Division I wrestler and South Dakota native has only faced defeat twice through 16 professional fights, both to the priorly-mentioned Amosov, as he plots another run towards the welterweight peak. Storley’s opponent, Ward, has earned three consecutive second-round knockouts after making his Bellator return in February of last year following an over four-year absence. Only one time has the former middleweight title challenger seen the distance through 23 matches, and the former D3 Wrestler hopes to continue his resurgence as a contender in what will be his 19th fight with Bellator.
ππ€π₯ π¬ππ‘π©ππ§π¬πππππ© ππ€π£π©ππ£πππ§π¨ ππ€π‘π‘πππ β‘οΈβοΈ@storleystorm and @SwaggleBerryFin are ready to throw down in the main event! Who wins? #Bellator298 THIS FRIDAY ποΈ
LIVE 10pm ET/PT @SHOsports πΊπΈ pic.twitter.com/wZnQdlJb3Zβ Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) August 10, 2023
In the co-main event, former interim Heavyweight Champion Valentin Moldavsky will rematch against dangerous finisher Steve Mowry. The two had previously contested at Bellator 284 in August of 2022 where an inadvertent eye poke from Moldavsky forced the doctor’s to wave off the contest within 60 seconds of the first round.
27-year-old Dalton Rosta makes his 2023 debut in hopes of remaining undefeated as he takes on former Cage Fury FC Champion and two-time Contender Series notable Aaron Jeffery in the middleweight division.
Two additional fights make up the anticipated main card. Straight Blast Gym Ireland’s James Gallagher returns following a near two-year hiatus in his featherweight pairing with former Cage Fury FC and Ring of Combat Champion James Gonzalez. Opening the Showtime portion sees former Titan FC Lightweight Champion and Ring of Combat Welterweight Champion Sidney Outlaw back for the first time in over a year against Dagestani grappler Islam Mamedov.
See our Bellator 298: Storley vs. Ward picks and predictions further below.
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBeltsΒ or a chain fromΒ Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Find out who the MMASucka staff have picked to win at Bellator 298: Storley vs. Ward.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 1:
Ben Jamieson: 182-94
Michael DeSantis: 178-98
Jeremy Brand: 174-102
Nate Freeman: 171-105
Wesley Riddle: 169-107
Frazer Krohn: 169-107
Julio Monteros Jr.: 155-94
Andrew Benjamin: 134-111
Jack Goodwillie: 132-79
Brian Knight: 126-79
Tim Wheaton: 105-60
Roemello Reyes: 62-34
Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
Brandon Joint: 12-9
Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
Joshua Yule: 7-6
Chris De Santiago: 6-6
Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note β not all staff pick for every event*
Sidney Outlaw (16-5), +220
vs.
Islam Mamedov (22-2-1), -270
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Mamedov via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Mamedov via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Mamedov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Outlaw: 0
Staff picking Mamedov: 8
James Gallagher (11-2), -112
vs.
James Gonzalez (10-6), -108
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Gonzalez via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Gallagher via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Gallagher via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Gallagher via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Gallagher via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Gallagher via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Gallagher via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Gallagher via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Gallagher: 8
Staff picking Gonzalez: 0
Dalton Rosta (8-0), -205
vs.
Aaron Jeffery (13-4), +170
Middleweight Division
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Rosta via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Rosta via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Rosta via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Rosta via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Rosta via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Rosta via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Rosta via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Rosta via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Rosta: 8
Staff picking Jeffery: 0
Valentin Moldvasky (11-3, 1 NC), -258
vs.
Steve Mowry (10-0-1, 1 NC), +210
Heavyweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Moldvasky via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Mowry via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Mowry via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Mowry via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Mowry via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Mowry via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mowry via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Moldvasky via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Moldvasky: 2
Staff picking Mowry: 6
Logan Storley (14-2), +250
vs.
Brennan Ward (17-6), -310
Welterweight Division
– Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Storley via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Storley via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Storley via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Ward via Round 3 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Storley via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Storley via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Storley via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Storley via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Storley: 7
Staff picking Ward: 1
BELLATOR 298 FEATURED IMAGE:
Valentin Moldvasky (left) and Steve Mowry (right) ahead of their Bellator 298 rematch fight taking place Friday, August 11th from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
