Bellator Signs HW Prospect and Olympic Hopeful Tyrell Fortune

[CC27]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/8/1...-wrestling-heavyweight-olympic-hopeful-tyrell

Bellator has signed yet another standout amateur wrestler.

With Aaron Pico and Ed Ruth already under contract, Bellator MMA has brought in Tyrell Fortune, one of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the world, sources told MMAFighting.com on Wednesday.

Fortune, 25, currently trains out of the Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Fla., and is a member of the U.S. national wrestling team. The Portland, Ore., native is a former NCAA Division II champion at Grand Canyon University in Arizona and was named the 2013 Division II wrestler of the year. Fortune was also a two-time NJCAA champion at Clackamas (Ore.) Community College.

Fortune will attempt to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics at the trials next April. He plans on making his MMA debut for Bellator in 2016, sources said.

Bellator has made signing stud wrestlers a high priority. Ruth, a three-time Division I wrestling champion at Penn State, was signed in May. Pico, who is still only 18 years old, was inked in November. Both are also Olympic hopefuls.

 

[CC27]

Def a quality signing, going after Ruth, Pico and Fortune is smart, probably doesnt cost them that much and chances are one of them if not all of them can grown into top fighters in Bellator.

Fortune does have some legal issues he needs to clear up, dont want to head down the Jon Jones road.

 

[Paul L]

Heavyweight all stars are getting snagged even before they fight now. Huge signing for Bellator though, future champion if he can actually fight.

Out of the big 3 Olympic level HW wrestlers wanting to go into MMA, just Amir Aliakbari is left unsigned. I can imagine his drug testing past might cause some organizations to hold off on him, but I'd still like to see the UFC sign him ASAP.

Edit: As a side note, WWE was trying to get Tyrell to sign a development deal with them, so this is a good coup for MMA.

 

[AGEZ909]

Very good signing by bellator.

people may hate on the lack of mma experience of this fighter, but what coker is doing is laying down the groundwork. signings like pico, ruth, and now this dude shows that coker is investing in the future of bellator

 

[Dat Dare Shrdog]

Heavyweight all stars are getting snagged even before they fight now. Huge signing for Bellator though, future champion if he can actually fight.

Out of the big 3 Olympic level HW wrestlers wanting to go into MMA, just Amir Aliakbari is left unsigned.I can imagine his drug testing past might cause some organizations to hold off on him, but I'd still like to see the UFC sign him ASAP.

Edit: As a side note, WWE was trying to get Tyrell to sign a development deal with them, so this is a good coup for MMA.

Who's the third?

 

[Paul L]

Who's the third?

Bilyal Makhov, who signed with the UFC. Makhov is also the best pure wrestler out of the 3.

 

[Slongkong]

Bilyal Makhov, who signed with the UFC. Makhov is also the best pure wrestler out of the 3.

Who's that Russian dude that beat DC and always trolls people by saying hes going into mma then never does.

 

[CC27]

Bilyal Makhov, who signed with the UFC. Makhov is also the best pure wrestler out of the 3.

Gonna be interesting to see how Bilyal does in mma.

He's a monster of a wrestler but how will he do handling a punch, striking, bjj? But its good to see guys like Bilyal and Fortune and Ruth getting into mma.

None of them will be doing mma until after next summers Olympics so its gonna be years before we know how good they are.

 

[Kinger85]

they are banking on these prospects big. Going to pay off huge for them or crash and burn.

 

[CC27]

they are banking on these prospects big. Going to pay off huge for them or crash and burn.

Crack and burn how? I guess it depends on what they are paying them but I cant see them paying them huge amounts of money right off the bat.

So if they dont pan out its not gonna be that damaging unless they are giving them huge signing bonuses and big show/win money right out of the gate.

We'll have to see if they fight in a state that releases payouts. Ruth and Pico will fight in FW and LHW divs which are two of Bellators deepest div but Fortune at HW could be one of there top guys after only a few fights without even being great.

Have to figure atleast one of them will become a top fighter in Bellator, its def worth taking a chance on.

 

[Paul L]

Gonna be interesting to see how Bilyal does in mma.

He's a monster of a wrestler but how will he do handling a punch, striking, bjj? But its good to see guys like Bilyal and Fortune and Ruth getting into mma.

None of them will be doing mma until after next summers Olympics so its gonna be years before we know how good they are.

I'm actually more optimistic about Makhov than the other two, he's from Dagestan, and you basically have to fight to the death to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds there.

Fortune has the highest athletic ceiling of the 3 though, if we're looking for guys who will be able to do things in the cage we've never seen done before at HW, then he's the better bet if he can apply those gifts to fighting.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Good signing!

 

[melvinj0]

Bellator could really use another undefeated talented HW Champ that they can let fade away.

 

[Frank23]

I like the signing.

 

[PIT FIGHTER]

Bellator is buying a lot of real estate in SUPLEX CITY as of late.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Bellator could really use another undefeated talented HW Champ that they can let fade away.

Haha, true.

He'll debut against a few 0-2 jobbers then fight the pinnacle that is Josh Burns, win that fight, then take out Dan Charles before fighting a 50yr old Cheick Kongo to win the belt. Then he'll remain inactive for about 2yrs before wanting to move promotions.

Sad but true.

 

[Eddieg]

Who's that Russian dude that beat DC and always trolls people by saying hes going into mma then never does.

Gatsalov.

 

[MMAddict21]

I'm not knocking this signing at all, it's great Bellator is investing in wrestling guys who could be future stars, but why not invest in already established prospects? Sign guys who can get in there and start fighting, Coker is doing almost nothing to build up Bellator's weaker divisions.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

they are banking on these prospects big. Going to pay off huge for them or crash and burn.

Don't see how. Most Bellator guys start off making peanuts at 1k/1k. Hard to believe it's going to be that much higher for Fortune.

 

[InfinityLens]

Haha, true.

He'll debut against a few 0-2 jobbers then fight the pinnacle that is Josh Burns, win that fight, then take out Dan Charles before fighting a 50yr old Cheick Kongo to win the belt. Then he'll remain inactive for about 2yrs before wanting to move promotions.

Sad but true.

They really need to do something about HW and MW.