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    Four-time All-American Storley wins pro MMA debut

    Logan Storley, four-time NCAA All-American for the University of Minnesota, took care of business in less than three minutes in his professional mixed martial arts fight at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Friday night.

    Logan Storley
    The Webster, S.D. native and former Golden Gopher mat star scored a first-round TKO via punches over fellow South Dakotan Bill Mees at 2:32 of the first round of their middleweight (170-pound) undercard match at the RFA 29 event. In an earlier article, the Sioux Falls, S.D. Argus-Leader described the Resurrection Fighting Alliance as "the UFC's unofficial developmental league."

    In its account of the fight, the Argus-Leader said that Storley "shot at Mees' legs early to drive him to the mat for the duration of the fight." After keeping his opponent on the mat, Storley then landed a barrage of punches until scoring the TKO.

    “Obviously, I want to keep it standing and get some punches in,” Storley said after the bout. “But I went in and the wrestling instinct just took over… And I took him down and finished the fight there.”

    Storley revealed his plans to go pro this past April. In late July, it was announced that the 2015 Minnesota grad would be making his pro MMA debut in his native state, where he was a six-time South Dakota state champ at Webster High School, alma mater to Brock Lesnar, another former Minnesota wrestler who found fame and fortune in MMA and pro wrestling. However, RFA 29 was not Storley's first MMA event; the former Gopher who graduated this spring had three amateur bouts while still in high school. Since announcing his plans to compete in MMA as a professional, Storley has been training with Power MMA & Fitness in Phoenix, working with UFC veterans -- and former Arizona State wrestlers -- Ryan Bader and C.B. Dolloway.

    While at Minnesota, Storley became only the tenth Golden Gopher grappler to become a four-time NCAA Division I All-American, racking up four top-six finishes in the 174-pound weight class. He placed sixth as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore, third as a junior and, fourth as a senior at the 2015 NCAAs in St. Louis. He also was a four-time placer at the Big Ten conference championships, placing fourth in 2015 and 2014, seventh in 2013, and runner-up in 2012. Storley completed his collegiate career with an overall record of 119-27.

    Storley isn't the only former college wrestler to enter pro MMA competition. Earlier this week, Tyrell Fortune, 2013 NCAA Division II heavyweight champ at Grand Canyon University, signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA. Earlier this year, Ed Ruth, three-time NCAA champ for Penn State and top-ranked US men's freestyle wrestler at 86 kilos/189 pounds, told BleacherReport.com that he plans to start his fight career immediately after wrestling freestyle at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A number of other former NCAA champs and All-Americans now compete as professionals in MMA, including Chris Honeycutt, 2012 NCAA finalist for Edinboro University; Paul Bradley, two-time All-American at University of Iowa; Bubba Jenkins, 2011 NCAA titlist for Arizona State; and 2009 NCAA champ for North Carolina State, Darrion Caldwell.
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