Sean Strickland’s teammate Johnny Eblen scores brutal KO to win title at PFL Austin

Johnny Eblen set up a mouth-watering PFL middleweight title unification bout with a brutal knockout victory at PFL Austin.

The 34-year-old secured a third-round triumph over Impa Kasanganay in the main event on Saturday night.

PFL

PFL

His win at the Moody Centre saw Eblen clinch the promotion’s interim middleweight title.

The former Bellator champion is now set for a long-awaited rematch with Costello van Steenis.

KO victory

Eblen had been due to face Van Steenis on Saturday only for the current champion to be forced out with an injury.

As a result, he instead claimed a second win over Kasanganay, having won via split decision when they first met in February 2024.

It was a much more definitive victory this time around, though, with Eblen delivering a vicious elbow to see off his opponent.

Having opened up Kasanganay with his jab throughout the fight, he rocked his rival with an elbow before sending him to the canvas with a follow-up punch.

In doing so, Eblen extended his professional record to 18-1, with team-mate and current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland cheering him on.

Rematch secured

Eblen will now take on Van Steenis in his next bout in a bid to become the undisputed PFL middleweight champion.

It will also provide him with the opportunity to avenge the only loss of his professional career.

Van Steenis won their first meeting at PFL Africa 1 in July 2025 with just nine seconds remaining in the final round.

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The rear-naked choke submission saw the Spaniard become the inaugural PFL middleweight champion in the process.

He has since followed up that win with a successful title defence over Fabian Edwards in March of this year.

Debut defeat

Elsewhere on the card, there was a surprise setback for England’s Lewis McGrillen in the co-main event.

The 25-year-old had been a heavy favourite for his first-ever fight in the USA against Rafael do Nascimento.

Despite promising a knockout, though, he succumbed to a rear-naked choke defeat in the second round.

It leaves McGrillen with a 12-2 professional record after eight fights with the promotion.

PFL

PFL

Meanwhile, Caolan Loughran also suffered a defeat earlier on the night.

The Irish fighter, who was previously scheduled to face McGrillen in October, was on the end of a unanimous decision loss to Julio Arce.

Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh fell victim to a rare choke hold on the same card and said the defeat to Gamid Khizriev left him ‘heartbroken.’

Fans can relive all the action from Saturday night for free on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel.