Bellator 225: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov 2 - Predictions and Picks

#4 Tyrell Fortune vs. Rudy Schaffroth

Tyrell Fortune is one of Bellator's top prospects

Signed alongside fellow standout collegiate wrestler Ed Ruth back in 2016, Tyrell Fortune’s Bellator career has gone from promising to largely frustrating. He’s 6-0 in the Bellator cage and has managed to put away four of his opponents by KO or TKO, so why the frustration? Well, while Ruth has slowly climbed the ranks and has fought solid opponents like Neiman Gracie and Kiichi Kunimoto, Fortune has still faced nothing but tomato cans or journeymen.

Schaffroth might be more than a tomato can or a journeyman – at 6-0 he’s more of a prospect than either of those things – but he still doesn’t necessarily represent a huge step up for a guy who’s clearly one of the best athletes in the division. Simply put, this kind of booking would just never happen in the UFC.

Interestingly, Schaffroth and Fortune have some history; Fortune beat Schaffroth in an amateur wrestling bout during their collegiate days. Schaffroth has since developed into a bit of a knockout artist – 5 of his 6 wins have come by KO or TKO and his other one was an arm triangle that followed a nasty knockdown – but despite this he doesn’t look like a particularly technical striker, preferring to use his brute force punches more than anything more subtle.

Fortune meanwhile simply looks better in all areas; we know there aren’t going to be many Heavyweights capable of outwrestling him – Schaffroth definitely isn’t one of them – but he’s also incredibly quick for a big man, looks like he’s picked up the striking game well, and is a far superior athlete.

This is Heavyweight MMA and Schaffroth hits hard enough to knock anyone out, but a puncher’s chance is all that I’m willing to give him here. I think Fortune takes him out impressively – and hopefully moves on to a higher level opponent next time out.

The Pick: Fortune via second round TKO