Losing title fight gave John Salter an unexpected freedom for Bellator 276 training camp

ST. LOUIS – John Salter hasn’t need to bounce back from a loss for a while, but this time it gave him some stress relief he wasn’t expecting.

Salter (18-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) fought for the Bellator middleweight title this past fall and came up short against champion Gegard Mousasi. He could be right back on the verge of a title shot if he beats Johnny Eblen (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) at Bellator 276 on Saturday. But he said losing to Mousasi helped give him less stress and more freedom in this training camp knowing he wasn’t trying to necessarily build his way to a title shot.

Salter spoke to MMA Junkie and other media members at Thursday’s Bellator 276 media day in St. Louis. Salter talked about his loss to Mousasi, his fight against Eblen, the possibility he could get another shot at the belt with a win and more.

Check out the portions of Salter’s interview in the video above.

Bellator 276 takes place Saturday at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.