Johnny Eblen strengthened his case as the top non-UFC 185-pound fighter in the world on Saturday night, defending his Bellator Middleweight Championship in a five-round battle against Fabian Edwards.
Eblen walked away with a unanimous decision win against England’s Edwards after 25 minutes of action, kicking off a triple main event at PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The stellar wrestling talents of Eblen matched with an ability to hold his own feet against a somewhat pedestrian-paced Edwards allowed the champ to maintain his belt and stay undefeated.
Eblen was the advancing fighter in the opening rounds of the fight, as Edwards seemed more interested in counter-striking. While Edwards was able to score with his own shots, including a fair amount of left straights from the southpaw position, Eblen was the aggressor in the fight and winning exchanges.
However, a crucial part of the Eblen game plan which gave him an edge on scorecards was pairing his success on the feet with ground control. Eblen picked up numerous takedowns throughout the fight, never dishing out significant damage against a grounded Edwards but nonetheless being the attacking fighter for large portions of the bout.
Eblen had to survive a comeback attempt from Edwards late in the fight, as the brother of former UFC champion Leon Edwards upped his output in the championship rounds. Edwards went from being the counter-puncher to the fighter leading the dance by pressuring the champ on the feet.
In the fourth round, Eblen broke Edwards’ growing momentum by scoring a takedown two minutes in. But the fifth round, arguably Edwards’ best five-minute stanza of the entire night, saw the champion run the clock while defending shots on the feet, unable to get the fight into a wrestling position.
Afterward, Eblen admitted that he had “faded” by the fifth round, crediting the rough finish to not arriving in Saudi Arabia with more time to prepare for the fight.
“I’m pretty satisfied,” Eblen said during his post-fight interview. “I wish I could have ended him again. There’s still some aspects of my game I need to work on. Hey man, Fabian’s a top-level guy. He’s one of the best in the world. It was really great to face him again.”
Eblen now has a flawless record of 16 wins since his 2017 pro debut. He has defended his Bellator title three times after taking the belt off veteran Gegard Mousasi in 2022.
Saturday was a chance to avenge a loss for Edwards and gain his first major MMA title in the process. He unsuccessfully challenged Eblen for his middleweight title in September 2023, getting stopped in the third round of a bout due to strikes.
Edwards fought his way back into the title picture earlier this year, overcoming Canadian contender Aaron Jeffery via decision in a #1 contender match. He was originally set to have a home-crowd advantage for this fight, as the bout was previously expected to headline a Bellator card from London, England. However, the bout was moved to PFL’s Saudi Arabia card due to undisclosed reasons.
Here are the quick results for Saturday’s show in Riyadh:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 11:00PM AST) (PPV)
Bout 9: Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:32) (PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via Decision, Unanimous (PFL Super Fights Featherweight Championship)
Bout 7: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards via Decision, Unanimous (Bellator Middleweight Championship)
Bout 6: Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Paul Hughes def. AJ McKee Jr. via Decision, Split
Preliminary Card (12:30PM EDT / 7:30PM AST) (ESPN+)
Bout 4: Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 3:01)
Bout 3: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 2, 3:51)
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