In what will surely go down as one of the greatest comebacks the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has ever seen, Costello Van Steenis’ hearty performance earned him a submission victory in the closing moments of his fight with the now previously-undefeated Johnny Eblen.
As a result of his win over Eblen, the final Bellator middleweight champion, Van Steenis is now recognized as the new PFL middleweight champion.
The fight headlined PFL Champions Series 2 — the second part of the PFL Cape Town card on July 19 in Africa.
The fight started with Eblen dominating the early rounds, using his wrestling to control position, land ground-and-pound, and suffocate Van Steenis against the fence. Van Steenis showed flashes of offense, but Eblen consistently secured takedowns and threatened submissions.
But in round four, things really began to change. Van Steenis stuffed shots, landed kicks and combinations, and even wobbled Eblen with a head kick at one point. Still, Eblen did enough to stop Van Steenis where need be, putting him in a huge must-finish situation.
Eblen looked to ride the fifth round out with his grappling. But Van Steenis fought with fire, staying composed and reversing position. With mere seconds to go in the fifth, Van Steenis took the back and sank in a rear-naked choke. Eblen was unable to survive, going unconscious with 10 seconds remaining to give Van Steenis a Hollywood ending.
Costello Van Steenis Wins PFL Middleweight Title, Ends Johnny Eblen’s Undefeated Record At PFL Cape Town
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Eblen captured the Bellator middleweight title with a win over Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 and retained the belt against Anatoly Tokov and Fabian Edwards (the latter twice).
Van Steenis earned this match with a pair of victories last year against Gregory Babene and João Vitor Dantas.
