Looking back over his two fights in 2019, heavyweight Tyrell Fortune is very pleased with how his bouts have turned out. He’s on the cusp of entering title talk, but he’s in no rush to take home the Bellator belt.
First against Ryan Pokryfky in February, then versus Rudy Schaffroth in August, both for Bellator, Fortune was able to showcase different aspects of his game and pick up finishes, extending his career-starting winning streak to seven in a row.
“(The fight versus Pokryfky) was a good fight to showcase what I had been working on; my hands; I wasn’t going to the ground and doing anything, I was trying to knock him out,” Fortune told MMAWeekly.com. “It happened a little faster than I thought.
“(Against Schaffroth) I knew this was a win he really wanted, so I felt this was the first fight where I had somebody who really wanted to fight me. I think in that fight I showed a little bit more composure. I felt a lot more comfortable when I got in the cage. I didn’t have any nerves. The fight went exactly how I predicted.”
Considering the actual time that Fortune has been able to put into training and fighting over the three year span since he turned pro, he feels like he’s made good progress in his game, but still has a ways to go.
“I feel really good about my progression so far,” said Fortune. “I think a lot of people don’t think that I’ve been a fighter for three years but I’ve only been fighting for two. After my third fight, I had a whole year off because I had to go through two surgeries.
“I think I have a lot more potential and a lot more room to grow and develop. To be doing what I’m doing right now with the time I’ve put in is really motivating.”
This Friday in Thackerville, Okla., Fortune (7-0) will look to remain undefeated when he takes on Azunna Anyanwu (15-5) in a main card heavyweight bout at Bellator 233.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
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