The PFL announced two massive Bellator Champions Series events for September in a press release yesterday afternoon. One of the events announced was for September 7th and that’ll feature lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov returning to face Alexander Shabliy.
The other event the promotion announced was for the following week on September 14th. The Bellator Champions Series will return to London with the middleweight title on the line. Unbeaten champion Johnny Eblen (15-0) returns to defend his title for a second time against Fabian Edwards (13-3).
These two originally fought back in September with Eblen scoring the third round finish. After that win and after the PFL acquisition, Edwards returned back in March in a number one contender fight against Aaron Jeffery. In that fight, Edwards got the decision win to earn a second crack at Eblen.
Bellator Champions Series London
This title defense in September will mark Eblen’s first title defense since the acquisition of Bellator. However, it won’t be his first fight since then. Back in February, the PFL put on the champions versus champions card and Eblen took on last season’s PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay.
Eblen faced the most danger he’s ever been in throughout his career. He was dropped in the fight and he was beaten up at times. However, he remained composed and leaned heavily on his cardio and wrestling in the championship rounds. Ultimately, the Bellator champion squeaked out a split decision win to keep his undefeated record.
Now, he’ll return to the Bellator cage where he’ll look to defend his title for the third time.