Undefeated Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen will look to make the second successful defence of his title reign this coming Saturday against Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299.
“Pressure” Eblen’s first defence came back in February when he beat Anatoly Tokov over a five round decision, which also extended his record with Bellator to 9-0. Similarly to Edwards, on his way to the title he had to go through some longer tenured fighters in the sport, which will have undoubtedly prepared him for these big moments.
On the lead up to this fight, Eblen has made it clear that he doesn’t think Edwards poses him enough threat to take the title away from him, and he doubled down on that at the Bellator 299 media day. “He’s fast and athletic with a good left hand from southpaw and has a good few tricks, tries to set you up with stuff but he ain’t going to get me man. I’m too slick, too good I put pressure on people and break them. I’m going to re-arrange his face with my fist,” Eblen said.
The American Top Team product has always been known for his high pressure wrestling, which is something Edwards believes he can exploit with his striking. Having said that, in his last few fights, Eblen has shown a clear improvement in his stand-up skills. Eblen admitted that he’s not ‘worried’ if it plays out as a stand-up matchup.
“I’m not worried if it’s a stand-up matchup. During this camp I got to train with Artem Levin, a 6x world champion kickboxer and he’s a killer, and that’s one of my main training partners for this camp and I stand and bang with him,” exclaimed Eblen. “I don’t doubt myself if there’s a stand-up fight.”
Check out the full Bellator 299 media day with Johnny Eblen above.
