John Salter began training in wrestling at age 12, going on to win a 2002 state title while in high school. He went on to attend Lindenwood University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he won the 2007 NAIA National Wrestling Championship at 174 lbs. Following college, Salter won various national grappling tournaments, including the 2007 NAGA Nationals Expert Division, as well as the 2007 Casca Grossa Professional Division. In addition, Salter began training kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
MMA career
Early career
Salter made his amateur MMA debut in 2007 and compiled an undefeated record of 7-0. He made his professional debut in March 2009 at middleweight and has maintained a record of 17-4.
On January 11, 2010, Salter made his UFC debut, stepping in as a last-minute replacement for Mike Massenzio against Gerald Harris at UFC Fight Night 20. Salter lost the fight due to TKO in the third round. Salter was scheduled to face Nick Catone on May 8, 2010 at UFC 113, but Catone was forced off the card with an injury and instead faced UFC veteran, Jason MacDonald. After 2:42 of the first round, MacDonald suffered a suspected broken ankle and Salter was declared the winner by TKO. Salter was expected to face Phil Baroni on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118, however Baroni was forced off the card with an injury. Late replacement Dan Miller defeated Salter via guillotine choke in the 2nd round. Salter was released from the UFC with a 1-2 record.
Strikeforce
Salter was expected to make his Strikeforce debut against undefeated Yancy Medeiros at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine on January 7, 2011, but Medeiros was forced from the bout with an injury. As a result, Salter was pulled from the card, but later re-added, fighting Casey Huffman who he defeated via TKO due to strikes in the 1st round.
In his Bellator MMA debut, Salter faced Dustin Jacoby on January 16, 2015 at Bellator 132. He won the fight via submission in the second round. On June 17, 2016 John faced the former Middle Weight title holder Brandon Halsey on the main card for Bellator 156. Salter won via submission by triangle choke. Salter faced Kendall Grove at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. He won the fight via technical submission in the first round. Salter was expected to face Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 188 on November 16, 2017. However, Tokov pulled out of the bout due to an ACL injury and was replaced by Jason Radcliffe. Salter won the fight via submission in the first round. Salter was expected to face Rafael Lovato Jr. at Bellator 198 on April 28, 2018. However, Salter was pulled by the Illinois Athletic Commission due to an eye issue on April 24 and replaced by Gerald Harris. Salter faced Rafael Lovato Jr. on September 21, 2018 at Bellator 205. He lost the fight via a submission. Salter stepped in to replace Melvin Manhoef against Chidi Njokuani on November 30, 2018 at Bellator 210. He won the fight via submission in the first round.
