MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for July: Costello van Steenis stuns Johnny Eblen
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominee: Movsar Ibragimov def. Gerardo Fanny at PFL Europe 2
Movsar Ibragimov kept his undefeated career record alive when he choked Gerardo Fanny with a rare technique in their PFL bantamweight showdown.
Ibragimov (7-0) took advantage of Fanny failing to let go from bottom position and clamped on a Von Flue choke that, after a brief struggle, led to the tap.
Nominee: Valter Walker def. Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC on ESPN 70
Valter Walker made history when he finished Kennedy Nzechukwu with his third consecutive heel hook finish.
Walker's (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) now trademark move landed early again, because he managed to make Nzechukwu (14-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) tap just 54 seconds into Round 1 of the heavyweight bout.
Nominee: Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey at UFC 318
For all the UFC middleweights who thought they just had to worry about Brunno Ferreira in the standup game, the Brazilian may have made their prep work a little more difficult after taking out Jackson McVey.
Ferreira (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) submitted short-notice replacement UFC newcomer McVey (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a nasty armbar at the 3:35 mark of the first round, showing diversity to his finishing attacks.
Nominee: Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio at UFC 318
Jimmy Crute is back in the win column for the first time since 2020 – and he reentered in style against Marcin Prachnko.
Crute (13-4-2 MMA, 5-4-2 UFC) submitted Marcin Prachnio (17-9 MMA, 4-7 UFC) with an armbar at the 4:32 mark of Round 1 in the light heavyweight bout. He had to struggle to get it, but eventually Prachnio could not fend off the technique and had to give up.
The winner: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen at PFL Africa
If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for his insane comeback against Johnny Eblen to claim the PFL middleweight title.
Not only did he become PFL middleweight champion, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he submitted Eblen (16-1) with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5.
Eblen had utilized his strong wrestling base and relentless pressure to largely dominate van Steenis the entire fight prior to his demise.
Entering Round 5, Eblen was up 39-37 on two judges' scorecards with a third having the fight tied 38-38.
Eblen got the fight down to the ground midway through Round 5 and took van Steenis' back. With approximately 45 seconds left on the clock, Eblen made a fatal mistake and fell off the top.
Van Steenis slickly flipped the script, got Eblen's back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and put Eblen to sleep.
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