Johnny Eblen has a trip planned to Texas next week to vie for PFL gold against a familiar foe, which could vault him toward fighting another previous dance partner for more gold when they get off the shelf from injury. Eblen will test skills with Impa Kasanganay on July 18th in the headliner of PFL Austin with interim middleweight gold on the line.
The road through the Lone Star state presents a sequel clash with Kasanganay and a potential path that could vault him toward another rematch with reigning PFL 185 pound champ Costello Van Steenis. Responding to the potential for back-to-back, repeat or revenge scenarios, if he gets his ideal outcome in the coming days, Eblen said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah. A lot of rematches coming up, especially after I win in Austin. But yeah, I’m excited. I’ve wanted to run this fight back. The first one was close. He dropped me in the second, and we had a split decision. I think having an interim title, five-round fight, rematch against Impa, I’m going to go out there and prove that I’m better than him. That the first fight was kind of a little bit of a fluke. So I’m looking forward to fighting him in Austin.
Johnny Eblen feels stories w/ kasanganay and van steenis are what makes the fight game “so exciting”
For Johnny Eblen, the discourse around when the lineal Bellaor MMA champ got the nod from two of the appointed judges at the PFL vs. Bellator card in February 2024 was that Kasanganay was one of Eblen’s more competitive career outings.
Responding to the notion of putting a stamp on this one and then ultimately having another rematch with a different story. A contest where a lot of the rhetoric was that he was winning the bulk of the fight until the closing moments, Johnny Eblen responded [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah. I think for some reason people say that they think Impa won, even though on the scorecards, I clearly won two rounds. I think it was just like the big moment of the second round, where he dropped me. But regardless of what people say, I know I won the fight. I don’t really care. Yeah, same thing with Costello, winning the bulk of the fight. In the last few seconds, I made a mistake and lost the fight. But that’s the fight game. That’s what makes it so exciting.”
