Bellator 277’s Tyrell Fortune: “I’m Throwing Hands with Everybody”

San Jose, CA — Tyrell Fortune was a sizeable favorite heading into his fight at Bellator 277, and it showed. He rocked and finished Rakim Cleveland, a PFL veteran, in under two minutes, getting back in the win column after a loss to Linton Vassell.

If you’re familiar with Fortune’s background, you know he has solid wrestling to fall back on. But it was clear he felt like he could get the job done on the feet.

“I feel like that with anybody,” Fortune (12-2, 1NC) said following the win, asked whether getting it done striking had been the plan. “I’m throwing hands with everybody.”

Fortune’s nothing if not confident, and the odds-makers clearly agreed. The rankings panelists? That’s another story, and perhaps a sore spot for Tyrell Fortune. Asked about the “experts” favoring him over Cleveland, the heavyweight replied “What experts though? Because if we’re talking about the guys that rank us and stuff, it seems kind of shady or a little weird. People move up and down when they haven’t fought, or they haven’t fought a ranked opponent. It’s kind of weird.”

“Steve [Mowry] didn’t even fight, and all of a sudden he was ranked ahead of me,” Fortune continued. “And I just fought his last opponent, another guy who’s not even in the company, a step-in, a replacement. So I think some of these rankings have got to be looked at, and how we do things.”

Currently, Bellator’s rankings are voted on by a panel of media members, including one from Cageside Press. But despite his dissatisfaction regarding the rankings, Fortune won’t let it impact the way he fights.

“I don’t feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. I was telling my coach and my friends, I don’t have to be upset to beat you up,” he stated. “I can do it with a smile on my face, and it’s still going to be the same thing. So it doesn’t matter to me, it’s just a fight.”

Watch the full Bellator 277 post-fight press conference with Tyrell Fortune above. More coverage from the event can be found below.