Report: Gerald Harris Replaces John Salter At Bellator 198

A change has been made to the main card of Bellator 198 according to MMA Junkie as Gerald Harris will replace an injured John Salter against Rafael Lovato Jr.

Salter also commented on the situation via Instagram:

 

I have terrible news. Unfortunately the IL athletic commission did not approve me to fight because of an eye issue. I just found out. I am really sorry to everyone that is going to the fight and to all of my sponsors and training partners. I did everything that I could to get cleared. I am especially sorry to @lovatojrbjj who is a professional and does not deserve to have opponent change that short of time. I will be taking care of the issue and will be back soon.

A post shared by John Salter (@johnsalter_mma) on Apr 24, 2018 at 4:26pm PDT

Lovato Jr. (7-0-0) has already competed three times under the Bellator MMA banner, last defeating Chris Honeycutt by unanimous decision at Bellator 189. Lovato Jr has only seen one of his seven professional MMA fights go the distance and that was the previously mentioned encounter at Bellator 189. Lovato Jr also competed four times in the Legacy Fighting Championships, where he defeated fellow Bellator MMA fighter Kevin Holland.

Harris (25-5-0) is going to be making his Bellator MMA debut in this fight and does so on the strength of a four bout winning streak. Harris is also coming back from his second retirement, which came after a win over Matt McKeon at Xtreme Fighting league 344. Harris won three of four during his stint in the UFC, with those victories coming over John Salter, Mario Miranda and David Branch.

Bellator 198 takes place on Saturday, April 28 from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois with Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on the Paramount Network.