Outside Source
As long as John Salter keeps racking up wins in dominant fashion, he is confident that he’s bound to be rewarded eventually.
The 33-year-old Nashville, Tenn., native enters his Bellator 198 matchup with Rafael Lovato Jr. on a seven-fight winning streak, with all but one of those victories coming inside of a round. That streak includes triumphs over UFC veterans Kendall Grove and Dustin Jacoby as well as a submission of ex-Bellator champion Brandon Halsey.
If he gets by the unbeaten Lovato Jr. on Saturday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., Salter could very well be the middleweight division’s next No. 1 contender. Bellator 198 is headlined by a heavyweight grand prix clash between Frank Mir and Fedor Emelianenko and will air on the Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
“I think after this win I don’t there’s any argument that I should be fighting for the title,” Salter told Sherdog.com. “Beat an ex-champ, finished everybody they put in front of me. At the same time, as long as I stay busy and keep getting fights, I’m happy to be active.”
Reigning middleweight king Rafael Carvalho is scheduled to defend the belt against UFC and Strikeforce veteran Gegard Mousasi in a featured bout at Bellator 200 on May 25. Salter tends to learn toward Mousasi in that matchup — but only slightly.
“I’ve got to think that Mousasi is the more rounded fighter. The longer it goes the more it’s in his favor,” Salter said. “Carvalho is dangerous. There’s several fights where I thought, ‘He’s fading now or he’s in trouble now’ and he’ll land that one shot to end it or hurt somebody and change the tide of the fight. He’s no pushover. He’s somebody you’ve got to be careful with, but I think I see Mousasi taking it. It’s definitely a fight that can go either way at any time.”
For Salter, that fight will have much more meaning if he defeats Lovato Jr. A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, the 34-year-old Oklahoma City, Okla., resident earned the most significant triumph of his relatively young MMA career when he outpointed Chris Honeycutt in his last outing at Bellator 189.
“I was in Honeycutt’s corner for that fight,” Salter said. “I was really glad I was there to see that fight happen because before that I thought Lovato was one of those guys who didn’t like to get hit. His standup was pretty solid. He did a good job with Chris, kept him away. I got to see a lot of ability that he has that I didn’t know that he had before that fight. That helped me a lot.
“It was a close fight; it could’ve gone either way. Chris didn’t really use his wrestling as well as he could have because of the fact he didn’t want to be on the ground with Lovato. I don’t have that reservation.”
While Salter respects the accomplishments of his opponent, he believes his skill set makes him a more difficult matchup for Lovato than some of his previous foes.
“One of the best ever Americans in jiu-jitsu. He’s a legend in that sport. He’s made the transition well. He’s a pretty well rounded fighter. There’s no where that he’s weak,” Salter said. “He’s dangerous everywhere. At the end of the day I’m an elite level grappler too, NAIA national champion wrestler, black belt in jiu-jitsu, ADCC qualifier. So I’m feeling pretty confident everywhere that he’s been dominating everybody. I’m not afraid to be on the ground with him, which really changes the way I can fight him [in areas] that other guys had to be careful with.”
If a win over Lovato somehow doesn’t yield the ultimate outcome that Salter seeks, he doesn’t plan on pouting. The way he sees it, the best option is to keep doing what he’s been doing.
“I don’t know what else I have to do. I’ve beaten everybody they’ve put in front of me,” he said. “I haven’t turned anybody down. I guess if this doesn’t prove it I’ve got to go out and get another win. Hopefully I’m proving every time I’ve been in the cage that I’m ready for that title shot.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
