Johnny Eblen dominates Bryan Battle with early submission victory

Johnny Eblen may have been sidelined longer than expected, but there were no signs of inactivity once he stepped back into the cage.

At PFL Pittsburgh, Eblen improved to 17-1 with a dominant first-round submission win over former UFC fighter Bryan Battle. He secured a rear-naked choke at 4:10 of Round 1 in the middleweight main event at the UPMC Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The fight was completely controlled by Eblen from the opening moments. He took Battle down quickly, moved to his back, and locked in the choke for an early finish. Before the fight, Eblen told MMA Junkie that he believed he deserved to be the first challenger for champion Costello van Steenis, and his performance against a former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner only strengthened that argument.

A matchup with van Steenis now appears likely. The champion defeated Fabian Edwards just eight days earlier at PFL Madrid. A rematch between Eblen and van Steenis would be highly anticipated after van Steenis scored a dramatic comeback win in their first meeting last July, finishing Eblen in the closing seconds of the final round.

For Battle, the fight marked a disappointing start to his PFL career. During his time in the UFC, he posted an impressive 7-1 record, but repeated issues with making weight in multiple divisions ultimately led to his release from the promotion.