The reigning Bellator MMA middleweight champion and an undefeated talent on top, Johnny Eblen headlined PFL Cape Town on Saturday, looking to defend what would become the PFL Middleweight Championship against Costello van Steenis.
The fight was the first for Eblen since a win over Fabian Edwards at PFL: Battle of the Giants in October. And Eblen looked as dominant as ever in the opening round on Saturday, bullying van Steenis and soon getting the fight to the ground. The champ had ample time to work on top, with van Steenis trapped in Eblen’s own corner. Eblen took the back, and it wasn’t until the final minute of the round that van Steenis was able to scramble – only to be trapped once again, eating elbows and left hands from Eblen.
Round two saw Eblen again get the fight down, putting van Steenis on his backside up against the fence. Eblen secured the legs and pulled them out from under the challenger, then postered up. Eblen moved to the back, got a hook in, and went after the rear-naked choke while his corner called for him to get another hook in. Eblen fell off, however, and van Steenis reversed, only for Eblen to scramble back to the top. A glimmer of hope for van Steenis quickly dashed. In guard, Eblen still managed to land an elbow. Costello van Steenis would return to his feet, but have to fight off another Eblen takedown attempt at the end of the frame.
In the third, a calf kick, and a high kick, was there for van Steenis in the opening minute. Yet Eblen answered with a flurry, followed by a double-leg takedown attempt that left the challenger drive into the fence again. When the takedown wasn’t there, and with the ref warning the pair to get busy, Eblen instead landed a solid punch off the break. Of note, for the first time in the fight, the duo had spent half a round on the feet. Yet Eblen soon punched his way into another takedown attempt. By the final minute, van Steenis was on his knees, Eblen controlling from the back, peppering him with punches.
Heading into the championship rounds, Eblen was clearly ahead in the fight. Yet the champ was showing a bit of damage, and less than 90 seconds in, her was taken off his feet by a calf kick. Eblen dove in on a single-leg attempt, with van Steenis defending with a guillotine, though he wasn’t in position to actually finish with it. When van Steenis broke free, he was able to fire off a bit of offense, but it wasn’t long before Eblen was back to driving the challenger against the cage. The ref didn’t like the lack of action, urging Eblen to ‘use your position,’ and later adding ‘use it if you want to keep it.’ A second warning followed, and Eblen opened up with punches before backing off, allowing van Steenis to move in with another calf kick. Costello finished the round strong, landing a kick, a combination, and battering the champ! Eblen, to some extent, was saved by the bell, though he hadn’t appeared overly wobbled, just tired and under fire.
With van Steenis likely winning round four, round five became very interesting. Had the judges seen any of the first three rounds going the way of van Steenis, the bout could potentially be tied, otherwise, Eblen was possibly up 3-1, with all rounds likely being 10-9s. In the fifth, Eblen got the fight down early, allowing him to get control of his opponent’s back. One hook was in, and the crowd was not happy after the action-picked kickboxing of the fourth. Yet Eblen clearly knew his path to victory, though van Steenis was able to power up and shake the champ off his back. Half a round was on the clock. And somehow, van Steenis then found himself on the champ’s back, with time ticking away. Up against he fence, van Steenis looked to get under the neck, and he did! The choke was in tight, and Eblen couldn’t fight the hands or push the elbow up. Nowhere to go, Eblen tired to just gut it out, refusing to tap – but he went unconscious with all of nine seconds left!!! A new champion, in a come-from-behind victory like few others.
Official Result: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 5, 4:51
