Tag: Tyrell Fortune

Heavyweight heel hook! Sergey Bilostenniy destroys Tyrell Fortune’s leg at 2024 PFL Playoffs 1

There was no tap. Everyone knew the damage that had happened.

It’s not every day you get a heavyweight heel hook, but that’s what fans got Friday at PFL Playoffs 1.

In a heavyweight showcase bout that served as the featured prelim, [autotag]Sergey Bilostenniy[/autotag] submitted [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] with a gnarly heel hook at 2:00 of Round 1.

The finishing sequence was an elongated leg lock battle, which Bilostenniy (12-3) eventually won in destructive fashion. Fortune (14-3) tried his best to fight the submission, but eventually his body caved to the damage. There was no tap, but the damage was evident and referee Jason Herzog intervened.

Bilostenniy, 28, gets his revenge on Fortune, who defeated him by disqualification, due to strikes to the back of the head, in April 2023. The win was his third in a row.

Fortune, 34, adds an official loss to his record for the first time since 2021 (though he lost a fight to Daniel James in 2022 that was later overturned to a no contest).

The up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL Playoffs 1 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL Playoffs 1.

Continuation of PFL’s heavyweight season gets two changes in Connecticut

The PFL’s return next month, and debut at Bellator’s former East Coast home base, has seen a pair of changes at heavyweight.

The PFL’s return next month, and debut at Bellator’s former East Coast home base, has seen a pair of changes at heavyweight.

[autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (15-7-1) is out of his fight against [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (13-2) on the main card. Fortune now will take on [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-5). And [autotag]Marcelo Nunes[/autotag] (11-2) is out of his bout against [autotag]Oleg Popov[/autotag] (17-1). Popov now will take on replacement [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] (6-2).

A Bellator official informed MMA Junkie of the new matchups Monday. The start of the PFL’s second half of the regular season takes place June 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. (ESPN/ESPN+), and features heavyweights and women’s flyweights who will attempt to qualify for the four-person postseason.

Fortune was supposed to fight Golm this past November at UFC 301 in Chicago, but Fortune became sick on fight day after the event started and the bout was scrapped. Fortune also was supposed to fight James to open the regular season, but had to withdraw. Consequently, he has no points in the standings, which are led by Valentin Moldavsky with 6 points. Golm lost his opening bout of the regular season.

Popov has 5 points after a second-round stoppage in his first fight of the season. Franklin will be fighting for the first time in the regular season.

With the changes, the PFL Week 4 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell
  • Dakota Ditcheva vs. Chelsea Hackett
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm
  • Liz Carmouche vs. Kana Watanabe

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)

  • Sergey Bilostennyi vs. Denis Goltsov
  • Jena Bishop vs. Taila Santos
  • Davion Franklin vs. Oleg Popov
  • Ilara Joanne vs. Shanna Young
  • Danilo Marques vs. Gokhan Saricam
  • Lisa Mauldin vs. Juliana Velasquez
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. Saray Orozco
  • Melissa Balic vs. Kristina Katsikis

Bellator 294 post-event facts: Liz Carmouche crafting strong stats during title reign

Liz Carmouche is making her footprint on the Bellator record books after recording another title defense at Bellator 294.

The first half of Bellator’s doubleheader in Hawaii went down Friday with Bellator 294, which took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and saw a champion defend her title in the main event.

[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) recorded a second consecutive defense of her women’s flyweight title when she rallied from a 3-0 deficit on the scorecards to submit [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) with an arm-triangle choke in the fourth frame of their rematch.

For more on the numbers behind Carmouche’s win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts form Bellator 294.

Bellator 288 post-event facts: Usman Nurmagomedov makes history with title win

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 288, which saw Usman Nurmagomedov move to 16-0 while claiming gold.

The penultimate Bellator event of 2022 went down Saturday with Bellator 288 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

With two title fights on the card, one champ defended while another belt changed hands.

[autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) earned a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to defend light heavyweight gold in the main event, while [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) outpointed [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on the scorecards to claim the lightweight strap.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 288.

Bellator 288 video: Daniel James blasts Tyrell Fortune, finishes with vicious ground-and-pound

Daniel James had quite the show for his hometown.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] put on a show for his hometown.

The Bellator heavyweight pulled off an impressive comeback, topped with a vicious finish over wrestling standout [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] at Friday’s Bellator 288 event at Wintrust Arena. The official stoppage came 27 seconds into the second round.

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James (14-6-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) had some rough moments in the first round, as he was taken down and hit by ground-and-pound from Fortune. However, early in Round 2, James tagged Fortune with a huge uppercut and then finished him with strikes on the ground. It was a vicious finish.

You can watch James’s stoppage victory in the video below (via Twitter):

James, 40, fought for the first time under the Bellator banner. With Friday’s result, he stretches his current win streak to four, all by TKO, and none later than the second round.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.

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Bellator 288’s Tyrell Fortune OK with drawing unranked Daniel James – as long as title shot still in play

All Tyrell Fortune cares about is “if there’s a fight that advances me forward” in the Bellator heavyweight rankings.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] is no longer worried about the matchmaking for his fights.

Fortune was hoping to avenge his losses to Timothy Johnson and Linton Vassell but instead drew unranked [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] at Friday’s Bellator 288 event at Wintrust Arena. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Whether it was his desired rematches or James (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), Fortune (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) is only concerned with taking a step toward the title.

“I’m always looking to get the losses back,” Fortune told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “But again, I used to think I used to focus more on who I was fighting and when I can fight. There’s so many more politics that goes on behind that that I can’t control, and those are uncontrollable. So I feel like I can’t focus too much on that.

“Bellator tries to line up the fights that they can and if these guys’ situations or problems that occur and we don’t get lined up then so be it. But at this point, it’s really just trying to get to the belt. If there’s a fight that advances me forward in the rankings, that gets me a better shot at the title, then I really don’t care who it is.

Fortune could take the route of making some noise through the media but prefers to stay true to himself in his pursuit of gold.

“I’m not gonna cause some rift or beef with some guys that are cool,” Fortune said. “Every time I see Tim (Johnson), we’re cool, we talk. Every time I see Linton – me and Linton used to train together, so me and him have a relationship. So I’m not gonna cause some fake beef just for a show. I think that’s corny. They know that I want to fight them.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.

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Bellator 288 predictions: Nemkov or Anderson, Freire or Nurmagomedov in Chicago title fights?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 288 main card in Chicago, which features light heavyweight and lightweight title fights.

Nemkov
vs.
Anderson		 Freire
vs.
Nurmagomedov		 Khizriev
vs.
Weichel		 Fortune
vs.
James		 Chokheli
vs.
Faraldo
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
180-106		 anderson2022
Anderson
(57%)		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov
(87%)		 khizriev2022
Khizriev
(75%)		 fortune2022
Fortune
(91%)		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
(90%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
190-101
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
182-109		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 weichel2022
Weichel		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
182-109		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
179-112		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 weichel2022
Weichel		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
178-113
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
176-115		 anderson2022
Anderson		 freire2022
Freire		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
175-116		 anderson2022
Anderson		 freire2022
Freire		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Nolan King
@mma_kings
170-121		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 weichel2022
Weichel		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
169-122
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 anderson2022
Anderson		 freire2022
Freire		 weichel2022
Weichel		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
157-134		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
142-149		 anderson2022
Anderson		 nurmagomedov2022
Nurmagomedov		 khizriev2022
Khizriev		 fortune2022
Fortune		 faraldo2022
Faraldo

Bellator makes its return to Chicago this week with a pair of title fights leading the card in the “Windy City.”

Bellator 288 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, light heavyweight champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) puts his title on the line against [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The fight is a rematch from an April title fight that ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads left Nemkov with too deep of a cut to continue. The fight also is the $1 million final of Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament. Anderson was the underdog in the first fight, but now is a -230 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Nemkov is +175. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Anderson as one of three unanimous picks at 11-0.

In the co-feature, lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) puts his belt up for the first time when he takes on the unbeaten [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Usman is the biggest favorite on the main card at a whopping -750, but he’s not a unanimous pick. Three of our staff members are taking “Pitbull” Freire in what would be a major upset.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Timur Khizriev[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) in a featherweight bout. Khizriev is a big -320 favorite at the betting window, but he has just a 7-4 picks lead.

[autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks in his heavyweight bout against Chicago native [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Fortune is a 3-1 favorite in the fight.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is our third unanimous pick at 11-0 in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) – even though he’s the smallest main card favorite at about 2-1.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Anderson (57 percent), Nurmagomedov (87 percent), Khizriev (75 percent), Fortune (91 percent) and Faraldo (90 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.

Bellator 288 pre-event facts: Patricky Freire can take sole possession of all-time knockout record

Check out the numbers behind Bellator 288, where all four title competitors are fighting for history.

Bellator returns on Friday for its penultimate event of 2022 with Bellator 288, which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader serves at the top of the card. In the main event, [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (14-2 MMMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will try for a second time to determine the Bellator light heavyweight and grand prix champion when they meet in a rematch of their April fight that ended in a no contest due to a head butt.

The co-headliner, meanwhile, will see lightweight gold up for grabs as [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) looks to kick off his reign with a defense against the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov pupil [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).

For more on the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 288.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 3-9)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 3-9.