“I was very surprised. And pretty happy about it too,” Said Sowma admitted earlier this week about landing a featured spot on the Bellator 251 main card.
Sowma (6-1) is lined up with Tyrell Fortune, one of the top prospects in Bellator’s heavyweight division. The promotional newcomer isn’t expecting any surprises when he faces Fortune on Thursday. “I’ve watched a couple of his fights. He’s very like, the same style every time.”
“I don’t know how long he’s been in the MMA world, but it looks like four years. I’ve obviously trained before that,” Sowma continued during the Bellator 251 media day. “But people don’t grow that drastically between fights. I’ve got like an idea of what would happen [when the pair meet].”
Sowma himself isn’t sure where a win over Fortune will leave him in his new home. His opponent is coming off a no contest opposite Jack May, and the first loss of his career prior to that. Sowma, meanwhile, has won six straight. His only defeat came in his debut, against current Bellator heavyweight Steve Mowry.
“To be honest I’m not really sure [where a win would put him],” said Sowma. “I’m just getting used to all of this. It’s a worldwide promotion. I have no idea honestly, I’m just trying to do this step by step, trying to get this win, and then go from there.”
As a young fighter coming up, landing in a big promotion like Bellator, “it’s kind of crazy. You get all this attention all of a sudden,” Sowma told Cageside Press. “You see how people started noticing you, then they say ‘actually we started noticing you before, we just didn’t say anything yet, because you weren’t ready. It’s pretty crazy.”
He knows he cam make an impact, however. “I think I’ll surprise people. I’m a smaller heavyweight coming from a regional show, but I believe in my skill and my training. So just keep an eye out.”
Watch the full Bellator 251 virtual media day press scrum with Said Sowma above. The event takes place this Thursday, November 4 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The main card airs live on CBS Sports Network.
