Dalton Rosta celebrates a win inside of the Bellator cage.
Dalton Rosta open to free agency following Bellator 250 victory, feels his value skyrocketed
The top middleweight prospect waiting for Bellator to negotiate, open to offers.
At only 24 years old, Dalton Rosta has showcased that he is one of the top talents in the prospect pool worldwide. Now 4-0, Rosta again impressed, this time in unanimous decision dominance over Ty Gwerder (5-2). Rosta has long been known as a wrestler, but “Hercules” stood toe to toe striking with Gwerder, again showing he hasn’t shown all of us his full arsenal just yet.
“I pushed with my management to get back in the cage quickly,” Rosta told MyMMANews. “Ty’s game was striking and I out struck him. I out wrestled him, out struck him and out grappled him.”
Originally offered Romero Cotton (4-0), an NCAA wrestling champion, Dalton Rosta pushed back his fight date with Bellator (per Cotton’s request). Only a few days after this, Cotton pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury. Rosta, when asked if he’d fight Cotton in the future, had some choice words for the undefeated former champion.
“He’s below me,” Rosta said. “I expected him to pull out. They analyzed the film and got cautious about it, so they pulled out. Rich Chou [Bellator Matchmaker] told me it was a back injury, I’ve injured my back 3 times a week out from Ty, that isn’t an excuse seven weeks out from a fight,” Rosta continued. “He will have a lot of tough fights, and he can’t keep turning it down. I’m above and beyond him now.”
Rosta is nearing free agency, and was very open to the idea of looking for his worth as a current undefeated prospect with certain hype surrounding him. Although he’d enjoy to stay with Bellator, he feels he needs to be fighting more often, and for a higher purse compared to his starting salary with the promotion now that he has proven he is worth it.
“We haven’t started negotiating yet,” Rosta explained. “My contract ends November 29th, and I am taking a little bit of time for my knee so I won’t be fighting again by that date.”
When asked if he’d consider options outside of Bellator, Rosta is open to free agency, and seeing what comes his way, including a new Bellator deal.
“Definitely exploring, unless Bellator offers me something I can’t deny off the bat,” Rosta explained. “In my opinion, I’m the most skilled prospect in Bellator, I’m sure sure I’ll hear from other promotions. I feel I showed a lot in this last fight, my gas tank, my striking, my explosions,” Rosta continued. “My value is rising.”
As a prospect, nearing free agency, the unanimous decision actually is worth more than another stoppage in many MMA minds watching. The ability to answers of Rosta’s gas tank, his striking, his ability to still be explosive late in the fight. This fight showed us that he isn’t just a knockout artist who needs a stoppage to win a fight.
“I went toe to toe with someone who was called a better striker than me,” Rosta explained. “I beat him everywhere, punches, kicks, I dominated. It raises my value, I’ve proven I can finish early or go the distance in any fight.”
Dalton Rosta ended our conversation speaking on if he does stay with Bellator, the importance of fighting more often in his eyes and on the main card.
“If they want to build these fighters, these prospects, you need to put us on the main card and let the world see us,” Rosta stated. “Expose us to the world, a lot of talent on the roster, Bellator can grow tremendously with doing that we have so much talent on the roster.”
