Latest news with #CostelloVanSteenis
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dustin Poirier, Paulo Costa, Daniel Rodriguez, AJ Francis and Eric Bischoff IN STUDIO, Costello Van Steenis, UFC 318 reaction
The Ariel Helwani Show is BACK ... IN ... YOUR ... LIFE! Join Ariel and the Boys In The Back as they react to a monster weekend in combat. Monday's lineup can be seen below: 1 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang react to anything and everything from the weekend in combat sports. 2:20 p.m. ET: New PFL middleweight champion Costello Van Steenis reflects on his massive, buzzer-beater upset of Johnny Eblen. 2:40 p.m. ET: Paulo Costa checks back in following his big win over Roman Kopylov. 3 p.m. ET: Daniel Rodriguez is back after his thrilling win over Kevin Holland. 3:20 p.m. ET: TNA superstar AJ Francis joins us in-studio the day after Slammiversary. 4:15 p.m. ET: Eric Bischoff is next up in-studio. 5:15 p.m. ET: Newly retired Dustin Poirier closes us out after his final fight at UFC 318.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PFL Africa results: Costello Van Steenis shocks Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva re-signs after lopsided win
Costello Van Steenis shocked the MMA world with a buzzer-beater submission that rendered former Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen unconscious in the final seconds of their title clash Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa. The previously undefeated Eblen (16-1) — long considered one of the best talents outside of the UFC — was putting on a signature display for PFL's maiden voyage to Cape Town, though cracks began to appear in the fourth round when a calf kick forced him to stumble, prompting Van Steenis (17-3) to let his hands go. It seemed as though Eblen regained momentum in the fifth round when he secured Van Steenis' back with a minute left on the clock. However, the challenger managed to force a scramble, reverse the position and immediately apply a rear-naked-choke. The referee waved off the contest with eight seconds left on the clock once Eblen's arms dropped as the referee checked to see if the American was still conscious. 'Nobody is as strong as Johnny in the first and second rounds,' said Van Steenis after the contest. 'He's the strongest guy I've ever fought with, but everybody has got a gas tank and so do I, but I gave my life for this s***, man. Twelve years in the professional business, started really young, made some mistakes … 16-3, but if you saw those threes losses, man, it was just too early for me. I was fighting legends. But I guess now I'm f***ing legend.' In the night's co-main event, 'Dangerous' Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) appeared to tell her corner that she broke her hand midway through the third and final round of her flyweight bout with Sumiko Inaba (8-2). Nonetheless, Ditcheva's striking arsenal was once again spellbinding at times as knees, elbows, fists and feet thudded into Inaba, who deserves credit for going the distance. The broadcast claimed that the Manchester talent landed 87% of her attempted strikes over the three rounds — 152 of 174 shots — helping pound-for-pound star Ditcheva to a clear unanimous decision win. Having gone the distance for the second time in her career, Ditcheva admitted she was disappointed to sustain a knock after a long period on the sidelines. 'I think I've injured my left hand, but I think I'm even more gutted because I've been out for so long and now I've come back and I'm injured again,' said Ditcheva in her post-fight interview. 'That was the best walkout I've ever had, so I just wanted to say thank you so much,' she added, praising the Cape Town crowd. Interestingly, with speculation rampant concerning a potential future move to UFC, Ditcheva also announced that she signed a new deal with PFL that will keep her with the promotion for the foreseeable future. 'I've just re-signed with the PFL, we've come to a great agreement and I'm going to look forward to the next few years,' she said. A.J. McKee (23-2) negotiated a challenging task put forth by Khabib Nurmagomedov student Akhmed Magomedov (11-2) to get back into the green. McKee jarred the Dagestan lightweight with a body kick just before the bell rang to end the first round. In the second, he showcased his stellar grappling ability, spending the majority of the five minutes on Magomedov's back. Although Magomedov looked to push the pace in the final round, McKee controlled him diligently to see out the victory. Earlier in the night, another Nurmagomedov fighter, Makkasharip Zaynukov (17-4), took victory on the main card, earning a clean unanimous decision nod over Japan's Takeshi Izumi (6-4). Opening the main card, Corey Anderson (19-6) put on stellar debut showing at heavyweight against former PFL tournament winner Denis Golstov (36-9). The former Bellator light heavyweight champion forced the Russian the grapple throughout the contest, and after comprehensively draining his gas tank, Anderson stopped the bout with grounded punches with approximately 90 seconds left in the second round. Check out complete PFL Africa results and highlights below. Main Card Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:51 of R5 | Watch finish Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-24) A.J. 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 (strikes) at 3:28 of R2 | Watch finish Preliminary Card Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of R1 | Watch finish Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickael Groguhe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Boule Godogo def. Shannon Van Tonder via split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27) Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa via TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch finish Karim Henniene def. Antero dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) Joffie Houlton def. Abdoulaye Kane via DQ (illegal knee) at 4:20 of R1 | Watch finish Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) Abraham Bably def. Badr Medkouri via KO at 4:59 (punch) of R1 | Watch finish Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PFL Africa results: Costello Van Steenis shocks Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva re-signs after lopsided win
Costello Van Steenis shocked the MMA world with a buzzer-beater submission that rendered former Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen unconscious in the final seconds of their title clash Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa. The previously undefeated Eblen (16-1) — long considered one of the best talents outside of the UFC — was putting on a signature display for PFL's maiden voyage to Cape Town, though cracks began to appear in the fourth round when a calf kick forced him to stumble, prompting Van Steenis (17-3) to let his hands go. It seemed as though Eblen regained momentum in the fifth round when he secured Van Steenis' back with a minute left on the clock. However, the challenger managed to force a scramble, reverse the position and immediately apply a rear-naked-choke. The referee waved off the contest with eight seconds left on the clock once Eblen's arms dropped as the referee checked to see if the American was still conscious. 'Nobody is as strong as Johnny in the first and second rounds,' said Van Steenis after the contest. 'He's the strongest guy I've ever fought with, but everybody has got a gas tank and so do I, but I gave my life for this s***, man. Twelve years in the professional business, started really young, made some mistakes … 16-3, but if you saw those threes losses, man, it was just too early for me. I was fighting legends. But I guess now I'm f***ing legend.' In the night's co-main event, 'Dangerous' Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) appeared to tell her corner that she broke her hand midway through the third and final round of her flyweight bout with Sumiko Inaba (8-2). Nonetheless, Ditcheva's striking arsenal was once again spellbinding at times as knees, elbows, fists and feet thudded into Inaba, who deserves credit for going the distance. The broadcast claimed that the Manchester talent landed 87% of her attempted strikes over the three rounds — 152 of 174 shots — helping pound-for-pound star Ditcheva to a clear unanimous decision win. Having gone the distance for the second time in her career, Ditcheva admitted she was disappointed to sustain a knock after a long period on the sidelines. 'I think I've injured my left hand, but I think I'm even more gutted because I've been out for so long and now I've come back and I'm injured again,' said Ditcheva in her post-fight interview. 'That was the best walkout I've ever had, so I just wanted to say thank you so much,' she added, praising the Cape Town crowd. Interestingly, with speculation rampant concerning a potential future move to UFC, Ditcheva also announced that she signed a new deal with PFL that will keep her with the promotion for the foreseeable future. 'I've just re-signed with the PFL, we've come to a great agreement and I'm going to look forward to the next few years,' she said. A.J. McKee (23-2) negotiated a challenging task put forth by Khabib Nurmagomedov student Akhmed Magomedov (11-2) to get back into the green. McKee jarred the Dagestan lightweight with a body kick just before the bell rang to end the first round. In the second, he showcased his stellar grappling ability, spending the majority of the five minutes on Magomedov's back. Although Magomedov looked to push the pace in the final round, McKee controlled him diligently to see out the victory. Earlier in the night, another Nurmagomedov fighter, Makkasharip Zaynukov (17-4), took victory on the main card, earning a clean unanimous decision nod over Japan's Takeshi Izumi (6-4). Opening the main card, Corey Anderson (19-6) put on stellar debut showing at heavyweight against former PFL tournament winner Denis Golstov (36-9). The former Bellator light heavyweight champion forced the Russian the grapple throughout the contest, and after comprehensively draining his gas tank, Anderson stopped the bout with grounded punches with approximately 90 seconds left in the second round. Check out complete PFL Africa results and highlights below. Main Card Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:51 of R5 | Watch finish Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-24) A.J. 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 (strikes) at 3:28 of R2 | Watch finish Preliminary Card Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of R1 | Watch finish Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickael Groguhe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Boule Godogo def. Shannon Van Tonder via split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27) Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa via TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch finish Karim Henniene def. Antero dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) Joffie Houlton def. Abdoulaye Kane via DQ (illegal knee) at 4:20 of R1 | Watch finish Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) Abraham Bably def. Badr Medkouri via KO at 4:59 (punch) of R1 | Watch finish Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Johnny Eblen happy with PFL but left wanting more: 'Money can only do so much'
Many of the big names PFL acquired through its Bellator purchase late last year are now gone from the promotion. However, Johnny Eblen – the last Bellator middleweight champion – remains, perhaps the biggest name remaining from the Bellator crop. Eblen (16-0) is set to return to the PFL smart cage, inaugurating the promotion's PFL Africa wing – which is scheduled for July 26 at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town. He takes on Costello van Steenis (16-3) in his first PFL middleweight title defense. Considered one of the best fighters outside the UFC today, many have wondered about Eblen's contractual situation with PFL and whether or not he'll be the next man to leave for the UFC. Advertisement Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio, Eblen pulled back the curtain on his situation, going into detail of where he stands. "I have three fights left on the contract, this is one of three, the one I'm fighting at in South Africa," Eblen explained. "That's kind of where I'm at. It's my Bellator contract. It's not a PFL contract. I think they have matching rights for a year after. That's pretty much all I know about the contract they acquired. That's it. Either I fight it out, which I really doubt I'm going to get three fights by March 2026, or it expires, and technically I'd be able to see what's out there." Unlike Patricio Freire and Patchy Mix, Bellator champions who were released from their PFL deals after airing their grievances publicly, Eblen is happy with how he's treated by the promotion. He's happy with his compensation and is getting fights. However, he can't help but want to test himself against the big middleweights over in the UFC so he can prove to the world he's indeed the best at 185 pounds. Advertisement "I think it's better to have those conversations in private and see where that gets you before taking it to Twitter or X or Instagram," Eblen said. "But they've been feeding me well. I've been happy there. I'm not upset. The only thing that kind of frustrates me is that I'm only able to fight certain people, and I can't really extend outside of it and the odds of them bringing in people that make sense for me to fight to really raise the status of my stock, it doesn't look super probable. So, you know, that's kind of where I'm at with my relationship with PFL. "I really hope they do well because I think it's important for promotions outside the UFC to give opportunities to fighters. They're a great company, they've treated me well, they treat a lot of people well. A lot of people making a lot of money through PFL, they're great. But there comes a point in time, money can only do so much. I want to find out. I want to fight the DDPs and the Khamzat Chimaevs, and they're not in PFL." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Johnny Eblen happy with PFL but unsatisfied in one respect
