A big shake-up has hit July’s PFL Austin card, as middleweight champion Costello van Steenis is injured and out of his rematch with Johnny Eblen.
The night’s anticipated main event is no more, and instead, Eblen (17-1) will take on former PFL season champ Impa Kasanganay at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on July 18, 2026.
Promotion officials announced the change on Friday.
Eblen bounced back from his first and only career loss, to van Steenis last year, in March when he submitted former UFC fighter and TUF champ Bryan Battle inside of a round. The American Top Team standout already holds a win over Kasanganay, after the two faced off as part of February 2024’s PFL vs. Bellator card.
Then representing Bellator MMA, Eblen won the fight via split decision, though the bout is remembered as one of the more even match-ups on the card.
Kasanganay won the PFL season at light heavyweight in 2023, just prior to losing to Eblen. He’s 5-2 since, and coming off wins over ex-UFC fighter Andrew Sanchez, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 23, and Bellator standout Dalton Rosta.
PFL Austin also has its co-main event set, as #1-ranked bantamweight Sergio Pettis (25-8), a former Bellator champ and UFC contender, returns to take on Lewis McGrillen (12-1).
McGrillen is unranked, but was a 2024 PFL Europe tournament winner.
Two other fights are officially announced for the July event: at lightweight, Sergio Cossio (27-12-1) vs. Kolton Englund (15-5), and in the women’s flyweight division, Andrea Vazquez (8-3) vs. Aleksandra Savicheva (7-2).
