Tim Johnson, looking for his first Bellator MMA victory, found just that at Bellator 239 on Saturday, putting top prospect Tyrell Fortune down with a perfectly-placed right hand.
Much like Bellator 239’s main event (prospect Ed Ruth versus the undefeated Yaroslav Amosov), the heavyweight scrap planned between Tyrell Fortune and Tim Johnson had a proving ground feel to it. In this case, Fortune had a chance to buck the prospect label against the more experienced Johnson.
Fortune was facing his second straight UFC alum in Johnson, and a fighter who had shared the cage with Cheick Kongo, Vitaly Minakov, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, and Shamil Abdurakhimov among others. For Johnson, he was looking to claim his first win in the Bellator cage after exiting the UFC off a win over Marcelo Golm.
Johnson pressed the action early, leading with his right hand and firing off a leg kick. Fortune was clearly the quicker man, able to evade the attacks with backward movement. Again, Johnson pressed forward on the attack; again, Fortune was able to escape. He’d also add a counter-right. In a clinch, Fortune fired a knee before disengaging. On their next exchange, he’d mix it up with both a right hand and a knee.
Johnson took control moments later, however, and derailed one of Bellator’s biggest prospects. Johnson charged forward, leading with a left jab that was followed up by a crushing right hook. Fortune toppled over like a felled tree, hitting the canvas. Tim Johnson had his first Bellator win, in a big way! The previously undefeated Fortune dropped to 8-1, while Johnson improved to 13-6 with the win.
Official Result: Tim Johnson def. Tyrell Fortune by knockout, Round 1, 2:35
