5 fights to make after Bellator 276

#4. John Salter vs. former Bellator title challenger Austin Vanderford

Bellator 276 may have been a great night for some of the promotion's homegrown fighters, but it wasn't a great night for John Salter. He was defeated by Johnny Eblen via unanimous decision with each judge scoring the bout 30-27. It was his second-straight loss as he looked to rebound from a loss to reigning middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi.

Based on how the division is shaping up, Salter vs. Austin Vanderford would be the logical fight to book next. Both recently lost to the current champion and in Salter's case, he was the No.1-ranked middleweight before the event.

Hypothetically, the winner could realistically earn another title shot as the division features many of the promotion's young prospects. As a result, they might lean towards giving somebody like Salter another shot rather than younger contenders in the top 10 rankings.

---

#3. Johnny Eblen vs. Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi

Johnny Eblen made a strong case for why he deserves the next title shot against middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. He looked dominant against Salter and then took advantage of his post-fight interview to call out 'The Dreamcatcher.'

'The Human Cheat Code' believes he's ready to dethrone Mousasi and takeover the division. At the Bellator 276 post-fight interview, he said:

"I think I match up well with Mousasi. I think I’m just a younger version of him pretty much. I expect to do better than him, honestly, in my career. He said he only has two fights left in his career and then he’s dipping. I want to be one of those fights, and I want to be sure of it. I don’t want anything weird to happen.”

It'll be interesting to see whether the promotion awards Eblen the next title shot or go in another direction with Mousasi. He was very impressive and remains unbeaten with an MMA record of 11-0.