Johnny Eblen is once again a champion.
On Saturday night, Eblen rematched Impa Kasanganay in the main event of PFL Austin, with the PFL interim middleweight title on the line. The last time the two fought Eblen barely scraped out a win. But this time, the former Bellator champion scored a much more definitive win, finishing Kasanganay in the third round.
Eblen came out strong with, putting pressure on Kasanganay early. But Kasanganay battled back in the second round, repeatedly landing overhand rights to stymie Eblen, who simply kept marching forward. By the end of the second, Kasanganay was bleeding freely from a cut on his face, and Eblen was covered in his blood.
The third round was more of the same, with Eblen continuing to pressure, despite Kasanganay landing cleanly. Kasanganay hung tough against Eblen’s pressure, but, unable to keep him off, Eblen eventually found an elbow that hurt Kasanganay, leading to a nasty finish.
After the bout, Eblen had strong words for undisputed champion Costello van Steenis, who handed Eblen his first career loss. The two were supposed to rematch at PFL Austin until van Steenis withdrew from the fight, and Eblen let him hear it in his post-fight speech.
“Look at him! He’s standing! He’s here! Why aren’t we fighting?!”
Van Steenis then came into the cage, and the two exchanged heated words, many of which were censored.
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