Bellator 274 Results: Logan Storley outstrikes Neiman Gracie to claim unanimous decision

History was made on Saturday night when the main event of Bellator 274 featured the first five-round non-title fight in Bellator history, and Logan Storley and Neiman Gracie made excellent use of those two extra rounds, battling it out for 25 minutes at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. In the end, it was Logan Storley who got his hand raised.

Storley chose to use his wrestling in reverse in this fight, out-striking Gracie with quick left hooks and overhand rights; he constantly kept the Brazilian on the back foot in the early rounds of the headliner. As the bout went on, Gracie was able to battle his way back in with a crisp jab and an uptick in volume.

But things really got interesting in the fourth round, when Gracie hurt Storley with a counter-uppercut that had Storley in a lot of trouble. Gracie was unable to close the show, though, and Storley managed to hurt Gracie with a huge overhand that dropped him and nearly ended the bout.

Miraculously, the fight made it to the fifth round where, despite their clear exhaustion, both men came out swinging, trading big shots for the final five minutes. In the end, the bout between the BJJ player and the wrestler featured almost no grappling, and Storley took home a unanimous decision with scores of 48-47, 50-45, and 49-46.

Andrey Koreshkov obliterates Chance Rencountre with a spinning back kick

In the co-main event, Andrey Koreshkov made quick work of Chance Rencountre, making his coach Alexander Shlemenko proud by stopping Chance Rencountre with a spinning back kick. This was the only strike in the bout. Rencountre immediately fell to the floor and then covered himself up to await the end.

After the fight Koreshkov demanded a fight with Paul Daley in London. He said neither Daley nor he like wrestling, and that he would knock Daley out. That would be a tremendous fight.

Adam Piccolotti outgrapples Georgi Karakhanyan

In a featured bout on the main card, perennial Bellator lightweight contenders Adam Piccolotti and Georgi Karakhanyan fought a 15-minute bout contested largely on the mat. Piccolotti’s grappling was superior for the first two rounds. He was able secure takedowns, and regain control of the bout for a considerable amount of time. However, in the third round, Karakhanyan staged a bit of a comeback, sinking in a deep guillotine and then using it to take top position on Piccolotti for once. Ultimately, it was too little, too late for Karakhanyan, who lost a unanimous decision.

Brennan Ward batters Brandon Bell

Brennan Ward has been through hell to make it back to the Bellator cage, and so it was only fitting that he bring some of that hell to his opponent.

Ward, who has had a very public battle with addiction, returned to action for the first time in over four years, and he did so to raucous support from the crowd. Ward repaid his loyal fans by putting on a clinic against Brandon Bell, battering his opponent with vicious combinations and savage ground and pound to force a stoppage just 32 seconds into Round 2.

Davion Franklin edges out Said Sowma

In the opening main card bout, top-10 heavyweights (according to the Bellator rankings) Davion Franklin and Said Sowma battled it out over 15 minutes, with Franklin winning a split decision. In a back-and-forth battle, though both men missed as much as they landed, it was the power of Franklin that made the difference, earning him scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 30-27 from the judges.

Check out full Bellator 274 results below:

Logan Storley def. Neiman Gracie by unanimous decision (48-47, 50-45, 49-46)

Andrey Koreshkov def. Chance Rencountre by TKO (spinning back kick and punches) – Round 1, 0:38

Adam Piccolotti def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Brennan Ward def. Brandon Bell via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:32

Davion Franklin def. Said Sowma via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Preliminaries

Nick Brown def. Mandel Nallo via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:20

Jaylon Bates def. Chris Disonell via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:39

Bobby King def. Aviv Gozali via TKO (referee stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00

DeAnna Bennett def. Justine Kish via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Jordan Newman def. Cody Herbert via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Justin Montalvo def. Corey Samuels via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:43

Isaiah Hokit def. Theodore Macuka via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:59

Jonathan Di Lorenzo def. Orlando Mendoza via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 1:07