Bellator news round-up: 'Next great Heavyweight' coming to Spike

We are coming up on a busy season for Bellator with Melvin Guillard making his debut next week, the Dynamite event with Glory September 19, Galvao vs. Dantas II October 23, and Pitbull vs. Straus III headlining their next marquee show on November 6. With all that coming up, Bellator fight announcements have been coming fast and furious lately. Here's a round-up of their latest:

• In what could turn out to be a huge move, Bellator has officially announced the signing of wrestling standout Tyrell Fortune. In 2014, our own Coach Mike called Fortune "MMA's next great Heavyweight" (in an article Bellator cited in their own press release). Check out his full article to get a sense of exactly what Fortune brings to the table. Already a decorated wrestler, Fortune is currently splitting his time between training MMA with the Blackzilians team with the goal of a 2016 debut, and training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio where he hopes to represent the US in wrestling. He has serious potential to make a major impact in MMA, and is a possible huge coup for Bellator.
  
• Just one week after Dynamite, Bellator has a card on September 26. The recently announced main event there will see Bellator stalwart and former champion Joe Warren take on veteran L.C. Davis. This is Warren's first fight since losing the Bantamweight title in what Warren felt was a controversial fight with Marcos Galvao in March. Davis comes in off a fight of the year candidate win over Hideo Tokoro. Winner here is likely next for the Galvao vs. Dantas winner. Also announced for that event is Kendall Grove vs. Joey Beltran and Henry Corrales vs. Emmanuel Sanchez.
• Rounding out that September 26 Bellator 143 card is the debut of Ewerton Teixeira. Teixeira is a Brazilian karateka with great experience in kyokushin karate. He had a very successful K-1 run in 2008-2010, including a GP win and wins over Jerome Le Banner and Errol Zimmerman (though his run is probably best remembered for Alistair Overeem murdering him with a knee). He's been largely inactive since the demise of K-1, but has started training MMA and put together a 3-0 record. He takes on Vinicius Queiroz in a fight that will determine if Teixeira can be a player in Bellator's Heavyweight division.
• Finally, just announced for the big Bellator 145: Pitbull vs. Straus III show is former Bellator champion Pat Curran going against UFC veteran Justin Lawrence. Curran is one of the major names in Bellator history, though he has found himself in a bit of a rough patch as of late. He comes in here off a July win over Manny Sanchez, and looks to keep that going against the less experienced Lawrence. Lawrence brings in a good amateur kickboxing background, and is best known for his strong showing on The Ultimate Fighter 15. He went 1-2 in the UFC and is a perfect 4-0 since. Should be a good battle between two accomplished strikers.
  

Bellator is next in action Friday, August 28 with Bellator 141: Guillard vs. Girtz, featuring the Bellator debut of Melvin Guillard plus Saad Awad vs. Patricky Pitbull. As always, Bellator 141 will be live on Spike, and Bloody Elbow will have live fight night coverage.