St. Louis, MO – Nicknames are fun, but they’re earned. Whether by friends, teammates, coaches or family a good nickname can be the first step towards stardom as long as you can back it all up in the cage.
“The Human Cheat Code”, also known as Johnny Eblen, takes on John Salter at Bellator 276 on Saturday night.
“King Mo, my head coach, ended up giving it to me. After watching me beat up dudes in the training room and watching my sparring rounds. He was just like, ‘Damn man you’ve got it all. You got the speed, you got the power, you got the slickness, you got the grappling, the striking, you’ve got it all. I’m going to start calling you The Human Cheat Code,” Eblen said at media day on Thursday.
For Eblen the fight against Salter comes after calling him out back in December 2021. It is arguably the biggest fight of Eblen’s career.
“He’s definitely the toughest competitor to date, but I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole career. Ready to show out,” said Eblen.
A fight against Salter, who just challenged for the middleweight belt in August 2021, is a chance to put on an impressive performance and put the division on notice.
“I’m up for any potential I don’t really care. I’m glad I have a job and that I can be an entertainer and put on shows. I work my ass off in the room and I get tested in the room day in and day out. I’m prepared for that moment if it comes.”
Fighting the #2 guy in the division in Salter would give Eblen the opportunity to lay claim to the next shot at middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi.
“I think it’d be a fair claim and I’m looking forward to taking that #1 spot and making that a future fight,” Eblen said.
Watch the full Bellator 276 media day scrum with Johnny Eblen above. More coverage from the event can be found below. The card takes place this Saturday, March 12, 2022 at the Family Arena in St. Louis, MO.
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John Salter
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Adam Borics
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Phil Davis
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Mads Burnell
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Johnny Eblen
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Julius Anglickas
