Johnny Eblen picked up consecutive win number 14 earlier today (Sat., Sept 23, 2023) in the main event of Bellator Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, knocking out Fabian Edwards in the third round to retain his Middleweight title (see it here).
The champion will always remember this win not only because it was his second straight title defense, but he will have a lasting scar for life after Edwards busted him open in the closing seconds of round number two with a perfectly-placed elbow.
Check out the extent of the damage, if you dare, which was posted by Eblen’s teammate, Dustin Poirier:
Champ said its just a scratch @JohnnyEblen pic.twitter.com/iOl5WwoWZb
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 23, 2023
Despite the cut, Eblen walked into round three like a man possessed, eating one of Edward’s best strikes before clipping the challenger with a massive right hand that dropped him to the canvas. The champion then went on to put the finishing touches on his masterpiece by landing one massing elbow after another, knocking the Englishmen out cold. Things then got testy inside the cage between Eblen and Leon Edwards, who was quick to come to the defense of his brother after Eblen stood over the fallen contender and mocked him.
“The Human Cheat Code” improves to 14-0, which includes going 10-0 inside the Bellator cage, the longest current win streak in the promotion. The American Top Team (ATT)-trained fighter doesn’t have a clear-cut challenger for his next title defense because he has already defeated the Top 3 ranked fighters in the division in consecutive bouts.
Having said that, it seems now would be as good a time as any for the promotion to consider staging a Middleweight Grand Prix tournament to keep things moving along.
For complete Bellator Dublin play-by-play and results click here.