(Via: Bellator)

On August 17, MMA fans will settle into the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls for Bellator 204. South Dakota’s own (8-0) Logan Storley looks to remain undefeated against seasoned vet (9-7) A.J. Matthews. Since joining the promotion last July, Storley has racked up three wrestle heavy wins, including a first round TKO finish over (7-6) Kemmyelle Haley in his debut.

When asked about what the fans can expect with a return to his home state, Storley told Fight Night Picks “I hope they get to see a great show, and get to see me walk out of there victorious.”

“It’s an up and coming state for MMA fighters. You know the wrestling roots are deep in South Dakota and we have a lot of wrestlers, we have a lot of tough guys, just a tough blue-collar state.”

Storley’s background as a six-time South Dakota State wrestler, and four-time Division 1 All-American at the University of Minnesota, has served him well in the transition to MMA. Training with renowned striking coach Henri Hooft at Hard Knocks 365 has also helped to round out the prospect’s game.

“We all help each other out, when someone has an upcoming fight against a wrestler or whatever, you know I help those guys. And we have lots of strikers, and you know Henri Hooft, and Kami Barzini and Greg Jones put together a plan and we all listen to those guys. They know what they’re doing, we just follow their lead and good things have happened.”

Getting a win over Matthews, who’s appeared in 10 contests with the promotion dating back to 2011, is no small feat. A.J. has been able to finish 6/9 wins, all by KO/TKO. Setting the tone early will be key for Storley to remain unbeaten.

“The biggest thing is just going out there and making him understand that I can strike with you. He knows that I can take him down, and he knows it’s going to be hard to get away and it’ll be a long night for him if he’s stuck down there.”

Bellator 204 is set to go down on Friday August 17, with the prelims beginning at 7 p.m. ET on the Bellator app, and main card at 9 p.m. ET on the Paramount Network. This is the second to last event before Bellator’s DAZN streaming deal begins, and is highlighted by a non-title featherweight bout between bantamweight champ (12-1) Darrion Caldwell and (12-3) Noad Lahat.