A key middleweight match-up has been added to Bellator 276 in March.
Bellator officials announced Tuesday that former title challenger John Salter (18-5) would face the undefeated Johnny Eblen (10-0) at the event, set for the Family Arena in St. Charles, MO on March 6, 2022.
Salter has not competed since losing his title bid against Gegard Mousasi in August last year. His title hopes were dashed in the third round, with the fight ending via TKO. Prior to that, Salter had won three straight. Overall, Salter is 8-2 through ten fights under the Bellator MMA banner.
Eblen has won all of his pro fights to date. The American Top Team fighter has seen six of those victories come inside the Bellator cage, most recently putting away Contender Series winner Collin Huckbody in just over a minute.
Later this month, Eblen’s teammate, Austin Vanderford, will challenge Mousasi for the middleweight title. Depending on the outcome of that fight, a big performance by Johnny Eblen could see him thrust into the title picture.
Bellator 276 has been billed as having a double feature atop the card, with the main event being a key featherweight fight between top-ranked 145’ers Adam Borics and Mads Burnell. Former light heavyweight champ Phil Davis meets ex-title challenger Julius Anglickas in the co-feature. The card as announced on Tuesday breaks down as follows:
Adam Borics vs. Mads Burnell
Phil Davis vs. Julius Anglickas
John Salter vs. Johnny Eblen
Jay-Jay Wilson vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
Cat Zingano vs. Pam Sorenson
Alex Polizzi vs. Jose Augusto
Derek Anderson vs. Goiti Yamaguchi
Romero Cotton vs. Lance Wright
Diana Avsaragova vs. Ashley Deen
Cody Law vs. Johnny Soto
Roman Faraldo vs. Kelvin Rayford
Jordan Howard vs. Trevor Ward
Dan Busch vs. Josh Augustine
