Gophers great Logan Storley officially joins 2024 PFL MMA season

Former Gophers All-American wrestler Logan Storley has his next professional MMA fight booked, as he will take on Shamil Musaev on Friday, April 19 in Chicago, Illinois. It will be his first fight in PFL. Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced its 2024 season rosters Monday afternoon. For non-MMA hardcore fans, PFL is a growing MMA league attempting to compete with the UFC. Instead of traditional boxing champion vs. contender fights, PFL does a regular season with playoffs to crown a champion every year.

Another MMA organization, Bellator, which Logan Storley previously fought for was acquired by PFL earlier this year. Every fighter that had a contract with Bellator now is with PFL. It is a bit confusing with how many different options you have to fight now between all of the fighters, but Storley will be one of 12 Welterweight fighters competing in the organization’s 2024 season. There will be two regular season fights for each fighter and then the top four based on various scoring criteria will be seeded in a four man bracket for the championship.

The 2024 #RegularSeason rolls through 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗚𝗢!

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Welterweights and Featherweights jumpstart their journeys towards a million dollars LIVE from the @WintrustArena

For more information and tickets 👇
🔗 https://t.co/r99jKoFSKC pic.twitter.com/4bGNwqxu0j

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 11, 2024

Opening round vs. Shamil Musaev

The only matched scheduled for Storley is vs. rising prospect Shamil Musaev. 16-0-1 and 30-years old from Mytischi, Russia, Musaev is a hyped prospect, that will be making his American MMA debut. He has fought for top promotions like KSW and M-1 Global, but he’s never fought a fighter with championship-level experience like Storley. It’s a huge step up for Musaev, but it will be fun matchup vs. two talented grapplers.

Entire Welterweight Field

• Logan Storley (15-2)
• Shamil Musaev (16-0-1)
• Magomed Ultamov (14-0)
• Andrey Koreshkov (27-4)
• Goiti Yamauchi (28-6)
• Neiman Gracie (12-4)
• Murad Ramazanov (11-0)
• Laureano Staropoli (13-5)
• Don Madge (10-4-1)
• Kyle Crutchmer (10-2)
• Luca Poclit (10-1)
• Zach Juusola (14-9)

You could make a real argument that Storley is the betting favorite to earn win the Championship. His win over Michael “Venom” Page for the Interim Bellator Welterweight Championship might be the best win by any fighter in the field. 31-year-old PFL veteran Magomed Ultamov is one of the best fighters int the field and never has lost a professional fight.

Storley has a win over Bellator veteran Neiman Gracie, while prospects like Murad Ramazanov and Shamil Musaev are a bit of unknowns. Overall, I love the concept of tournament style fight from PFL. If you haven’t watched much MMA, following former Gophers great Storley this season would be a great introduction.