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    PFL Champions Series: Van Steenis dramatically chokes out Eblen, captures middleweight title

    Simon HeadBy Simon Head4 Mins Read
    Costello van Steenis
    PFL

    The Netherlands’ Costello van Steenis produced an unforgettable come-from-behind performance to dethrone undefeated PFL middleweight champion Johnny Eblen and capture the 185-pound title in dramatic fashion in Cape Town, South Africa.

    Van Steenis challenged Eblen in the main event, and after the first two rounds, it looked like the fighter known as “The Spaniard” was heading to defeat. But, after being dominated through the first two rounds, van Steenis delivered a stirring comeback through the middle rounds to give himself a chance, then dramatically finished the champion with just nine seconds left on the clock to capture the title.

    Eblen started in typical “Johnny Pressure” fashion as he took the action to van Steenis, blitzing in with punches, then changing levels and landing takedowns against the fence. It was a tactic that van Steenis struggled to deal with through the opening 10 minutes. But as the fight headed into the middle rounds, he started to stuff some of Eblen’s takedown attempts, and began to punish the champion with his strikes.

    And after he pushed the pace on the champion in a fourth round that saw the momentum start to swing towards the challenger, it looked like van Steenis had half a chance of nicking the fight on the scorecards with a big final round. But Eblen turned to his wrestling again as he punished a tired spinning back-kick attempt by van Steenis by taking him to the mat.

    Eblen kept the pressure on while the fight was on the ground as he ate up the clock and denied the challenger the chance to stand and bang in the closing moments. But, after van Steenis escaped Eblen’s clutches in the closing moments, the crowd exploded. And as the action went to the floor again, and van Steenis surprised Eblen by taking the champion’s back, he locked in both hooks and, despite being at an awkward angle against the fence, he managed to lock up a rear-naked choke.

    With less than 20 seconds of the fight remaining, Eblen knew all he had to do was hold on and not tap, while van Steenis knew the only way to win was to put the champion unconscious. Van Steenis squeezed with everything he had, and as Eblen’s eyes glazed over, referee Rich Mitchell checked on the champion, and with Eblen rendered unconscious, waved off the fight with just nine seconds remaining.

    In the co-main event, 2024 PFL women’s flyweight champion Dakota Ditcheva was taken all the way to the scorecards, by a game Sumiko Inaba, but there was no doubt over the result after three rounds of one-way traffic that saw Ditcheva punish Inaba with nasty Muay Thai strikes throughout the 15-minute battle.

    Inaba looked to overwhelm Ditcheva with forward pressure, but every time she got within range of the English star’s clinch, Ditcheva locked her up and planted a succession of knees and elbows into the Bellator veteran’s face.

    By the end of the fight, Inaba’s face was a swollen mess, while Ditcheva was nursing a suspected broken left hand.

    After Ditcheva’s unanimous decision victory was officially confirmed, she revealed that she had re-signed with the PFL, and was excited for the next stage of her career with the promotion.

    Also on the card, former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee showed his all-round MMA talents as he shut out Russian grappler Akhmed Magomedov on the scorecards, while Artur Zaynokov outpointed Japan’s Takeshi Izumi.

    The main card kicked off with heavyweight action, as Bellator light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson finished 2024 PFL heavyweight champion Denis Goltsov via second-round TKO to prove himself as one of the PFL’s very best at heavyweight.

    PFL Champions Series Cape Town: Official results

    • Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 5, 4:51 – for PFL middleweight title
    • Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-24)
    • AJ McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
    • Artur Zaynukov def. Takeshi Izumi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
    • Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 2, 3:28

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    AJ McKee Corey Anderson Costello van Steenis Dakota Ditcheva Johnny Eblen PFL
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