How does Bellator 178's Tyrell Fortune feel about being punched? 'I'll find out after I take one'

Collegiate wrestler turned Bellator heavyweight Tyrell Fortune is in no rush when it comes to his MMA career.

Set to make his third professional bout as he heads into tonight’s Bellator 178, Fortune understands that, as helpful as his highly successful wrestling background was, it’s now just part of a wider skillset. And he’s not about to rest on past laurels moving forward.

“I take it day by day,” Fortune told MMAjunkie Radio. “I’m in no rush to get to the top, I just want to learn everything. Coming from a wrestling background, this isn’t wrestling no more, this is fighting. So I’ve got to get my boxing, my kickboxing and my jiu-jitsu game up to a level where I can compete with those high level guys who’ve been doing it for years.

“I do believe my wrestling is a key element, to go into a fight with a guy who’s been striking for 10 + years, it’s dumb not to have my level of kickboxing or boxing to his level, or close.”

Fortune (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) welcomes former college football player Branko Busick (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) to professional MMA on a heavyweight preliminary card matchup. Tonight’s event takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

It’s certainly been quite the turn of events for Fortune, who had no MMA aspirations until he was asked to help former UFC champ Rashad Evans prepare for a scheduled bout against current titleholder Daniel Cormier back in 2014.

From then on, Fortune was hooked. And now, the former NCAA Division II national wrestling champion is more than willing to step out of his comfort zone to put his new-found striking skills to use.

“I’m definitely looking for knockouts,” Fortune said. “When I’m on my feet, I’m looking for knockouts. If it goes to the ground, then I’m going to utilize my wrestling. In every fight I haven’t really taken very many shots or lessons on the cage on anything, so initially I want to test my hands and I want to make sure that at the beginning of every fight that I’m getting better and I’m improving.”

Fortune’s tenacity has been working out so far: Not only has he won his first two outings, he’s done so in decisive manner, with TKOs over Cody Miskell and Will Johnson at Bellator 163 and Bellator 171.

But, as fun as punching other people may seem, how does a career wrestler like him feel about being on the receiving end of a shot?

“I’ll find out after I take one,” Fortune said. “I’ve taken them in practice, and I’ve held up fine, that’s nothing. I can’t really answer that question cause I haven’t taken one yet, but maybe if someone gets lucky and lands one, we’ll see how I deal with it.”

For more on Bellator 178, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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