San Diego — Johnny Eblen will be back in the spotlight shortly in the main event of PFL Austin later this month, but he hasn’t exactly been absent from the headlines.
Eblen was a big part of Sean Strickland’s camp and corner for his fight with Khamzat Chimaev, and got considerable kudos for the work he put in there, including from the two-time UFC middleweight champion himself.
Speaking with Cageside Press as the PFL’s Summer Series kicked off, the former Bellator MMA middleweight champion told us that being part of Strickland’s big night “was just a lot of fun. I felt like I was a part of a sports history moment, especially him being such a big underdog, and Chimaev, everybody kind of counting Sean out. Just being a part of that camp, being a part of that corner and being a part of that night, it was just truly awesome. You don’t get very many nights like that, where you get to experience that.”
Eblen (17-1) was supposed to be fighting Costello van Steenis at the Moody Center in Austin on July 18, only for the current PFL middleweight champ to pull out. Now, he rematches another former foe, Impa Kasanganay. Yet while he wants the belt again, he’s not hyper-focused on van Steenis.
“I just take each and every fight one by one. I know I want to get the belt back, and I want to get that rematch with Costello, but if it doesn’t ever happen, it doesn’t ever happen. I don’t care. At the end of the day I’m a fighter, and I just want to fight want to make money. That’s all I really care about. And also I’m a martial artist, I just want to get better at my craft.”
“I think it’s the best for the company and best for a storyline; for us to have a rematch and for it to happen in this next fight, it would have been huge,” continued Eblen. “Because that’s the rematch everyone’s looking for, it’s the biggest fight you can make outside of the UFC, or the biggest fight you can make in the PFL. But it is what it is. He wanted to push it, so now I’m fighting Impa, and I think that’s the next biggest fight you can make.”
Eblen earned a split decision victory in his first fight against Kasanganay a couple of years back, part of the PFL vs. Bellator head-to-head event. And he sees a path to victory again.
“I’ve just got to fight smart, don’t get hit with his right hand, and mix it up. That’s all I need to do.” Eblen foresees victory regardless of whether the finish comes or not, but believes he can end Kasanganay’s night early. “When I see the finish, I’ll take it.”
Watch our full interview with PFL Austin headliner Johnny Eblen above.
