Starting a few hours after the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA will counterprogram a weak UFC Apex offering with the first non-title, non-tournament five-round headliner in company history. Pickings are admittedly slim on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, with nine of 13 fights drawing a betting favorite at -300 or above, but there is still room from some action in this lineup. The Bellator 274 edition of Prime Picks needs to go narrow with prop bets. Plus, a possible grappler’s delight main event worthy of an extra 10 minutes and a hungry young finisher teed up for another stoppage merit additional attention.
Neiman Gracie-Logan Storley Goes Over 4.5 Rounds (-120)
Bellator knew exactly what it was doing when it made this fight, putting two all-grappling welterweight standouts against one another for five rounds. Although the ground chops of both men could cancel out and fans could be subjected to five rounds of subpar kickboxing, the styles of wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu intersect in such a way that it is practically impossible that they avoid the floor for the entirety of the match. Gracie, whose hands have markedly improved over the years, still would like nothing more than to wrench off a limb or clamp down on an exposed neck. A four-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota, Storley has practically one goal in mind to counter: Put Gracie on his back, stave off an offensive guard and get work done with ground-and-pound. Storley is a smart wrestler, and he will not put himself in harm’s way to do damage from the top, so this could be quite a methodical affair that burns up clock time.
Gracie would like nothing more than to get the record for most submissions in Bellator history again, although his last finish came on the feet with a salvo of punches and a cracking elbow that put Mark Lemminger away. In the process, Gracie became an extremely rare member of his clan to score a knockout in major competition, joining only Royce Gracie and Ryan Gracie. Some grapplers fall in love with their hands, to their detriment, but Gracie still presents as means-to-an-end on the feet so that he can bully his opponent to the fence, secure a takedown and get started on the mat. Storley is practically the same way, but of the two, the Golden Gopher is far more proficient at getting things horizontal.
Storley’s only career defeat came by split verdict to current champion Yaroslav Amosov in a fight in which he was beaten to the punch, figuratively and literally. Amosov led the dance in takedown entries, and although Storley managed to land some his own, the Ukrainian proved to be slicker and better prepared to get up and turn the tables. Gracie could indeed spoil the coming-out party for Storley should he scramble effectively, hit reversals and put him into submission danger early. Finishes for Storley have rarely materialized since he reached the Bellator stage, and “Storm” is not afraid to storm his counterparts with a blast double and control from on top for as long as he can. The strategy for the South Dakotan may be to open up on top in limited circumstances as the fight progresses and Gracie tires, and strikes from above could be at a premium in the first few rounds. Whether Gracie is able to outlast the Sanford MMA rep or Storley is able to grind out his submission-savvy adversary, the all-important clock will keep ticking until the 2:30 marker of Round 5 hits.
Aviv Gozali Wins Inside Distance (-200)
When the lion’s share of matches shows one favorite with prohibitive odds and a few prelims too close to call with too many question marks hanging overhead, sometimes one of those “sure thing” favorites still provides a way to get out ahead. This comes in the form of a 6-0 wunderkind in Gozali, who has only competed inside the Bellator cage and has won all six of his bouts by first-round submission. Fellow grappler Bobby King looks to be the sternest test of Gozali’s young tenure, as he will come in with a 10-4 record and having never been submitted. Experience, especially taking fights into deep waters, will be far on his side, as he has more cage time in his last bout alone—a 15-minute affair with Alexandr Shabliy—as Gozali does in his entire career (12:26). Aggressive perhaps to a fault, the 21-year-old Gozali seems to only know one speed.
The spoiler for this play may be King’s knowhow of escaping the worst of a first-round blitz and coming out the other side. Beyond a pro debut where he fell in the opening round, most of the Utah native’s fights have pushed into the third round or later. Each of his last six outings, where he largely faced improved competition on the Bellator or Legacy Fighting Alliance stage, have seen him make it to Round 3. The possibility undoubtedly exists that Gozali turns into a “glass cannon”-type, presenting all offense for a few minutes until he runs out of steam. While King could be the one to break Gozali’s string of consecutive first-round subs, there is still decent value in the youngster getting it done inside the distance again.