This past Saturday on the main card of PFL Battle of the Giants, we saw a Bellator middleweight title rematch. The unbeaten champion Johnny Eblen (16-0) was looking for his third successful title defense while picking up his second win over top contender Fabian Edwards (13-4).
These two had just fought last September, but due to the lack of contenders at middleweight, it didn’t take long for a rematch to materialize. Eblen fought at the PFL versus Bellator champions card earlier this year and defeated 2023 light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay in a very close fight.
Edwards picked up a win in the meantime and that setup this rematch for the Bellator middleweight title. This fight was really never that close until the fifth and final round. Throughout the first four rounds, Eblen was in full control and was fairly dominant using his wrestling. Edwards could never get anything going.
Eblen did tire in the fifth round and that is where Edwards had the most success. He was able to keep the fight standing and landed some really good shots. However, nothing landed that could’ve finished the fight and ultimately Eblen picked up the decision win at PFL Super Fights to retain his Bellator title.
What’s next after PFL Super Fights?
In reality, there’s not much that’s left for Eblen with the PFL and Bellator. There’s no middleweight season being planned for 2025 since the PFL doesn’t even have a middleweight division. In terms of the Bellator roster, there’s just not a ton of compelling matchups for Eblen, but he’s under contract through the end of next year.
So with that in mind, he’s not going to be making the jump to the UFC just yet. In an ideal world for Eblen, he would be making his UFC debut in 2025, but that’ll have to wait until 2026. In looking at the roster at potential opponents, there are a couple of names that do jump out.
The first name that jumps out is Aaron Jeffery who is coming off a decision win against former Bellator champion Douglas Lima. Jeffery fought Fabian Edwards in a title eliminator in March and lost which is why Edwards got his rematch. Coming off the Lima win, that’s a fight that seemingly makes sense for all parties involved and it’s a fresh matchup for Eblen.
Another potential matchup I could see is a matchup against the 2024 PFL light heavyweight champion. Impa Kasanganay is going for his second straight title against Dovlet Yagshimuradov. If Kasanganay wins his second straight title, I could see him dropping to 185 for a rematch with Eblen perhaps with the Bellator title on the line.