Bellator 198 gets a potential middleweight title-eliminator.
According to MMAFighting, streaking contenders Rafael Lovato Jr. and John Salter are set to faceoff at Bellator 198 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Former Legacy FC title-holder; Rafael Lovato Jr. (7-0) is a perfect 3-0 under the Bellator MMA banner, all in 2017. He starched Charles Hackmann in 13-seconds in his promotional debut before submitting Mike Rhodes in two minutes last July.
Lovato Jr. picked up a very impressive win over former Division 1 wrestler Chris Honeycutt in December. He is only the third American athlete to win the BJJ World Championships and is a black belt under the famed Carlos Machado.
Alabama’s John Salter (15-3) enters Bellator 198 having won 7-straight. The former Strikeforce and UFC fighter is 5-0, all finishes, inside the Bellator MMA cage. During his Bellator debut in 2015, Salter submitted GLORY veteran, Dustin Jacoby, in round two.
Since then he has picked up first-round finishes over Brandon Halsey and Kendall Grove, most recently taking out Jason Radcliffe in less than two minutes in November of 2017.
Bellator 198 is slated to take place at the AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on April 28.
The main event features a highly-anticipated heavyweight grand-prix quarter-final bout between MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir. Also on the card is a feature featherweight bout between Emmanuel Sanchez and Sam Sicilia, as well as a welterweight clash between Neiman Gracie and Javier Torres.
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Earlier this month, Brazil’s Gazeta Do Povo reported that Bellator is hoping to make its debut in the MMA hotbed of Brazil with a fourth fight between MMA legends Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva.