Another night at the office, and another win for the undefeated Dalton Rosta at Bellator 289 on Friday.
Middleweight Rosta improved to 8-0 with a unanimous decision win over Anthony Adams, ranked #10 in the 185lb weight class. Rosta himself started the night at #5, and is likely to inch forward a spot or two later this week.
The fight was a grind at times, but that is something Rosta is used to. “I could do that all day long. I’m used to working hard, and going to dark places, and fighting my way out of them,” the middleweight known as “Hercules” — built like him, quite frankly — said following the fight. “But that’s not how I want to fight. I want a long career, I want to finish guys.”
Rosta did chase the finish in the third round, and had Adams hurt right at the end. Another minute, and he might have had a stoppage. “If anything, it’s more of a tease than anything,” Rosta said of that late surge.
“I need to continue to get better,” the 27-year old said later. “My teammate Johnny [Eblen] is the champ right now, we train together all the time, we get better. I’m getting my experience in the cage.”
Of course, having a teammate, at American Top Team, who holds the belt in the same promotion and weight class could pose a problem down the road. “We might have to fight each other. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but at the end of the day it’s just business,” Rosta stated. “But until that day, I’m going to keep training with him, keep getting better, because he pushes me. He’s a beast. He has a good gas tank, good striking, good wrestling. I think he has all the qualities I have plus a good gas tank. He’s a really good fighter, an I’m blessed to have him in the gym.”
After going the distance for the fourth time in five fights, Rosta does seen a silver lining, as much as he wants to finish opponents.
“One thing I can take away from these decision victories is that I’m getting more cage time. And I’m learning to chain things together as I go,” he noted.
Watch the full Bellator 289 post-fight media appearance by Dalton Rosta above.
