Tyrell Fortune gets his hand raised after getting a win at Bellator 225 (Photo/Bellator)Next month's Bellator 239 will now feature two former college wrestling champs, as national junior college titlewinner and NCAA Division II champ Tyrell Fortune has been added to the card this week, joining former NCAA Division I titlist Ed Ruth at the mixed martial arts event at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackervile, Oklahoma on Friday, February 21.
Fortune will again be matched up to face former UFC fighter Tim Johnson, according to Cageside Press.
"Tyrell Fortune vs. Tim Johnson is back on, this time at Bellator 239. The heavyweight pair were previously booked at Bellator 233, only to have the bout fall through. On Wednesday, however, a Bellator official confirmed to Cageside Press that the fight was on again."
The 30-year-old Fortune is now 8-0 in his pro MMA career which he launched with Bellator in November 2016. His opponent, Timothy Johnson, 34, brings a 12-9 pro MMA record in a career going back nearly a decade.
Fortune brings impressive heavyweight wrestling credentials to his just-announced bout at Bellator 239. signed with Bellator four years ago this month, the promotion had to be impressed with his heavyweight amateur wrestling credentials. Fortune was a two-time Oregon high school state wrestling champ who also won six national freestyle and Greco-Roman titles. Fortune then launched his collegiate career at Clackamas Community College in Oregon, where he won two NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) heavyweight titles. He then headed south to Grand Canyon University in Arizona, where he was crowned heavyweight titlist at the 2013 NCAA Division II championships, and was also named Division II Wrestler of the Year. (Note: Grand Canyon eliminated its varsity wrestling program in March 2016.)
Fortune will appear on the same card as Ed Ruth. As InterMat reported in early December, Ruth will be at the top of the card for the first time in a welterweight (170-pound) match vs. Yaroslav Amosov. Ruth, who is 8-1 in his pro MMA career, was a three-time NCAA mat champ for Penn State.
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