Latest news with #vanSteenis
USA Today
19-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
PFL Africa results: Costello van Steenis pulls off insane buzzer-beater, taps Johnny Eblen
If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for Saturday's fight. Not only did he become PFL middleweight champion, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he submitted Johnny Eblen with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5. The middleweight clash headlined PFL Africa at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. Eblen (16-1) 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. A longtime training partner of Gegard Mousasi, van Steenis built his name in Bellator where he went 7-2 prior to PFL's merger. A 48-second head kick in his PFL debut earned him a crack at Eblen, who had never lost prior to Saturday's bout. Up-to-the-minute PFL Africa results include:
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Eblen vs. van Steenis winner will leave PFL Africa with upgraded middleweight belt
The PFL main event winner at Saturday might want to take his new belt home as a carryon and not in his checked luggage. The extra weight might incur an extra charge. Johnny Eblen (16-0) will go into his middleweight title fight against Costello van Steenis (16-3) as, technically, the Bellator 185-pound champion. If he wins at PFL Champions Series: Africa in Cape Town, the belt he'll leave with is the PFL middleweight title. And that piece of hardware has been revealed. PFL's description of it: "a 12-pound masterpiece crafted from aircraft-grade metals, plated in 24-karat gold and mirror-polished nickel, adorned with 175 sparkling stones." Eblen said in a statement released by the promotion that he preferred the new belt to the one he has currently, which migrated over from Bellator after the PFL bought the promotion and dissolved it. Eblen beat Gegard Mousasi three years ago to win Bellator's middleweight title and defended it twice before the PFL merger. Since then, he beat Impa Kasanganay in a Bellator vs. PFL champ-vs.-champ matchup and defended the belt again, but under the PFL banner, against Fabian Edwards. Fan favorite van Steenis has won four of his past five, but most recently his Von Flue choke win over Gregory Babene 14 months ago and a highlight-reel head kick KO in a featured bout at the PFL 2024 championships caught enough attention to warrant a title shot. "This looks good on me because I'm a real champion. This is coming home with me. I'm going to give my life for this one," van Steenis said in a statement about the new belt. For the first time, the PFL has set up shop in Africa for a Champions Series event at the southern tip of the continent in Cape Town, South Africa. It will mark the first major MMA event on the continent. PFL Champions Series: Africa takes place at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town. The card streams on ESPN+ at 5 p.m.
