Their rematch was for all the marbles. Or perhaps half the marbles, given it was an interim middleweight title on the line in the main event of PFL Austin on Saturday.
Either way, Johnny Eblen and Impa Kasanganay met at the Moody Center in a pivotal main event, the winner assured a shot at Costello van Steenis, the champ who had been forced off the card and out of his own rematch with Eblen.
Like Eblen and CVS, “Pressure” and Kasanganay had met once before, at the PFL vs. Bellator card a couple of years back. Eblen had come away with a decision win that night; he was looking for a more definitive outcome on Saturday.
The opening round of Eblen vs. Kasanganay 2 was a spirited one, both men landing, both men forcing the other back at times. A round that played out pretty much entirely on the feet, with both middleweights throwing hard. What might have been an even round, however, took a dramatic shift when Eblen knocked down his opponent in the dying seconds of the round.
Suddenly, the cadence of the fight had taken a significant shift up.
Round two opened with Kasanganay seemingly wanting to punch his way back into the fight, taking it to Eblen only for the former Bellator champ to give right back. American Top Team’s Eblen, known as he was for his wrestling prowess, appeared ready and willing to stand and bang with Kasanganay, a former PFL Global tournament winner who had pocketed the million dollars in prize money a few years back.
Kasanganay landed a couple of right hands about 90 seconds into the second frame that forced Eblen to clinch up. No question, Eblen wasn’t loving the damage he had taken from those. He fired a short elbow before the pair broke.
Later in the frame, Eblen would work the body in a clinch.
Things took another dramatic shift in the third round. More accurately, they came to a crashing halt. After more back-and-forth early, Eblen fired a knee, then popped off an elbow and a couple of punches. It was the elbow that dropped Impa Kasanganay really, with all but one final hammerfist glancing or missing. Either way, Impa was out, and Eblen had the win, celebrating while champ van Steenis sat cageside, belt draped over his shoulder.
They’d face off in the cage shortly after the smoke had cleared from the PFL Austin main event, setting the stage for their rematch to finally take place hopefully later in the year.
Official Result: Johnny Eblen def. Impa Kasanganay by knockout, Round 3, 2:39
