Bellator free fight: John Salter hands Costello van Steenis his first promotional loss

John Salter has a lot of momentum behind him.

A top Bellator middleweight contender, Salter (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) has won nine of his most recent 10 fights. His lone loss came to future Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. in September 2018.

Salter’s most recent fight took place at Bellator 233 in November 2019. In his first Bellator main event, Salter squared off with rising Dutch contender Costello van Steenis.

At the time, van Steenis was undefeated in the Bellator cage, having defeated Steve Skrzat, Kevin Fryer, Chris Honeycutt and Mike Shipman en route to his matchup vs. Salter.

Despite being eight years younger than Salter, van Steenis was a slight betting underdog. The oddsmakers were proved correct. It took him three rounds, but Salter got the job done by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in Salter’s favor.

Salter was recently scheduled to fight May 16 against Fabian Edwards at Bellator Europe 8. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent logistical ramifications, the promotion postponed its May events.

No rescheduled date has been announced at this time.

Check out John Salter’s Bellator 233 win over Costello van Steenis in the video above.