Bellator 273: Dalton Rosta sees an early finish or long, gruesome night for Duane Johnson

Taking a short notice fight is never an ideal situation for an undefeated fighter. 

Two weeks ahead of his return at Bellator 273, Dalton Rosta was notified that Romero Cotton had pulled from their highly anticipated middleweight clash. Needless to say, Rosta was unpleasantly surprised by the news since the fight was canceled twice prior. 

The organization scrambled and found a replacement in Daune Johnson. Although the headlines will throw praise at Johnson for stepping in without much preparation, Rosta believes that is not the case. 

“Who in their right mind would take a fight with a high-level opponent on two and half weeks notice had they not been training? That’s dangerous for one. And two it’s just stupid,” Rosta told The AllStar.

“You’re asking for a loss. In the fight game, something, where there’s so much pride involved and so much ego involved, you’re not going to take the fight unless you’re actually absolutely prepared. Unless you’re just trying to get it for a paycheck which he doesn’t strike me as a person that trying to take it as a paycheck.”

Hercules

The American Top Team prospect takes a very cerebral approach to every adversary. Even with limited time, Rosta dissects every aspect of Sanford MMA’s Johnson and identifies his paths to victory.

“He’s athletic. He has some good striking. He does a lot of things well,” Rosta said. “But also he has not had the same level of competition as me if you look at his record on Tapology. His strength of schedule wasn’t very strong I’ll put it like that. 

“Whereas if you see my last two fights. I fought Ty Gwerder who 5-1. After that, I fought Tony Johnson who was 9-2 and 10-1 as a professional boxer. I’m not taking give-me fights. I’m taking actual fights, he was taking give-me fights. On top of that, one thing I’ve noticed is even though he does have good striking, he’s athletic, he doesn’t string his combinations together too much.”

“He’s definitely a good opponent. He’s obviously been training if he’s taking the fight on short notice so I’m sure he’s going to be prepared. He has a great gym behind him as well. But that can only get you so far. On the 29th, I get either an easy finish or it’s going to be a long, gruesome night for him if it goes the whole fight.”