Tag: Johnny Eblen

Johnny Eblen secures split decision over Impa Kasanganay to remain undefeated – PFL vs. Bellator Highlights

Johnny EblenBellator MMA middleweight champion Johnny Eblen kept his undefeated record intact with a closely contested split decision over Impa…

Johnny Eblen

Bellator MMA middleweight champion Johnny Eblen kept his undefeated record intact with a closely contested split decision over Impa Kasanganay at PFL vs. Bellator.

Both fighters came out ready to let their fists fly, but it was Eblen’s wrestling that ultimately made the difference throughout the 15-minute affair. Eblen nearly saw his ‘O’ go after absorbing a flurry of strikes in the opening moments of round two that sent him crashing to the canvas. But again, wrestling bailed Eblen out and allowed him to fully recover en route to a dominant performance in round three.

Official Result: Johnny Eblen def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Eblen moved to 15-0 in his mixed martial arts career while the 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament winner fell to 15-4. The loss snapped a six-fight win streak for Kasanganay.

Check Out Highlights From Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay at PFL vs. Bellator: 

Johnny Eblen’s girlfriend, OnlyFans model Jessenia Rebecca, threatens to dump him if he loses at PFL vs. Bellator

Johnny Eblen and Jessenia RebeccaIf Johnny Eblen doesn’t get the win on Saturday night, he’ll go home without his title and his girl….

Johnny Eblen and Jessenia Rebecca

If Johnny Eblen doesn’t get the win on Saturday night, he’ll go home without his title and his girl.

Days ahead of his highly anticipated return against 2023 PFL light heavyweight tournament winner Impa Kasanganay, Eblen was spotted out and about with OnlyFans model Jessenia Rebecca. Eblen reportedly dropped a whopping $85,000 during their afternoon shopping spree, spending $30,000 at Alex The Jeweler, $25,000 at Dior, and another $30,000 at Louis Vuitton

“It was an incredible day, and I’m so grateful to Johnny for his kindness,” Rebecca said following the experience.

As it turns out, Eblen’s kindness only goes so far. During a recent interview, Rebecca spoke of her relationship with the Bellator MMA middleweight champion, revealing that if he doesn’t get his hand raised at the PFL vs. Bellator event in Riyadh on February 24, their relationship will be as dead as his title reign.

“Then I’m out,” she replied when asked what would happen if Eblen loses. “He has to win.”

Jessenia Rebecca Defends Her Comments about ditching Johnny Eblen

Rebecca’s comments immediately drew the ire of fight fans who lambasted her in the comments section on social media. Responding to the backlash, the Instagram influencer suggested that she was simply being honest and would expect nothing less from Eblen.

“Since when was being honest wrong? Do you think if I stopped being attractive or gained a bunch of weight he would be with me? No,” she wrote. “He likes me cuz I’m attractive and I like him cuz he’s a champion. Either one of us can get dumped if we lose the thing that the other found attractive. Let’s start being honest in 2024.”

With a little something extra to fight for, are you putting any money on Eblen to come out on top?

Bellator MMA champion Johnny Eblen spends 85k on OnlyFans model Jessenia Rebecca ahead of PFL debut

Johnny EblenDays away from his highly anticipated return to the cage, Johnny Eblen went on an extravagant shopping spree with…

Johnny Eblen

Days away from his highly anticipated return to the cage, Johnny Eblen went on an extravagant shopping spree with Jessenia Rebecca — a popular OnlyFans model with nearly two million followers on Instagram.

According to a report from TMZ, the undefeated Bellator middleweight champion dropped a whopping $85,000 during their expensive outing, spending $30,000 at Alex The Jeweler, $25,000 at Dior, and another $30,000 at Louis Vuitton. Interestingly, the pair are not even dating, though Eblen is said to be in an open relationship with another woman.

Johnny Eblen Makes His PFL Debut on February 24

On February 24, Eblen will feature on the PFL vs. Bellator card emanating from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dubbed ‘The Battle of Champions,’ Eblen is scheduled to face the 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament winner, Impa Kasanganay, in the co-main event of the evening.

“I’m on a different level,” Eblen told Sports Illustrated while discussing his impending clash with Kasanganay. “At the same time, any grown man with some technique can knock you out. If I’m not on point, I’ll f*cking lose this fight. So I’m not taking any shortcuts. That mentality is going to show how I’m on a different level than him.”

With his existing contract set to expire in the fall of 2025, Eblen plans to test out free agency.

“I plan to test free agency and see what’s out there,” Eblen revealed. “We’ll see how everything plays out. I know I can beat every single middleweight. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to get in the cage with everyone I want to fight. I really want to put myself out there and test myself.”

Eblen makes his PFL debut with an unblemished record of 14-0, including wins over Gegard Mousasi, Anatoly Tokov, and Fabian Edwards in his last three outings.

Dustin Poirier’s teammate reveals details on UFC 299 fight fall out fiasco: ‘There wasn’t even a verbal agreement’

Dustin Poirier's teammate addresses UFC 299 fight fiasco there was no verbal agreementBellator middleweight champion and teammate of Dustin Poirier discusses the ‘The Diamonds’ recent contractual issues.  Fans were thrilled, if…

Dustin Poirier's teammate addresses UFC 299 fight fiasco there was no verbal agreement

Bellator middleweight champion and teammate of Dustin Poirier discusses the ‘The Diamonds’ recent contractual issues. 

Fans were thrilled, if not a little surprised when the UFC announced that they had made a fight between No.3 Dustin Poirier and No.11 Benoit Saint Dennis. Poirier is a future hall of famer and was potentially expected to take a higher profile fight, rather than taking on the dangerous Frenchman who has had just six UFC fights. 

However, the mouth-watering affair was temporarily off after Poirier had tweeted that the fight was off and in fact was never officially signed in the first place. And just a short time later Poirier announced that it was just a ‘misunderstanding’ and everything seemed to be resolved. 

Dustin Poirier’s teammate delves into UFC 299 fall out

Teammate of Poirier, Eblen spoke with SHAK MMA and discussed the situation, revealing the UFC did not meet Poirier’s terms despite the American agreeing to the idea of the fight.

“I know Dustin pretty well, and I actually spoke with him about it today,”  Johnny Eblen began. “They just didn’t come to terms, man. The things that Dustin laid out for them that they need to provide for this fight they were not willing to do it.” 

“I just think it’s kind of horse s*** because I know how much money the UFC makes and they could make that fight happen but they’re choosing not to because they’re being stingy in a way. The fact that no contract was signed and they were willing to f****** announce it is f****** beyond me, man. That’s never happened to me. Not even a verbal agreement, Dustin said.

“Dustin said, ‘Yeah, that sounds good, but like, we gotta get this deal worked out. That’s not a verbal agreement, Eblen continued. A verbal agreement’s like, ‘Hey, if you do this, this, and this, I’m in,’ and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll do this, this, and this.’ Okay, cool, I’ll fight him. Then you do the contract and you sign the contract. There wasn’t even a verbal agreement on his end. It’s kind of crazy to me that they were willing to even promote it to this degree and then let it backfire like this.”

Who wins, Dustin Poirier or Benoit Saint-Denis?

PFL x Bellator Supercard Officially Set for February 24 in Riyadh Featuring Four Champion vs. Champion Fights

PFL x Bellator supercardThe PFL x Bellator supercard is officially set for February 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A few short months…

PFL x Bellator supercard

The PFL x Bellator supercard is officially set for February 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A few short months after the Professional Fighter League’s blockbuster announcement that it had acquired Bellator MMA, we now know when and where the highly anticipated event featuring PFL champions vs. Bellator champions will go down. According to a report from Ariel Helwani, the event will emanate from the Saudi Arabian capital next month with a slew of exciting fights.

In the main event of the evening, 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will take on Bellator MMA heavyweight titleholder Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader. In the co-main event, 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay will face Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen in a 185-pound fight.

Also announced for the main card is 2023 PFL featherweight champion Jesus Pinedo who will face Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull, and 2023 PFL welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov will square off with Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson.

Rounding out the card will be a series of can’t-miss clashes, including former PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza vs. Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov in a heavyweight bout. Clay Collard vs. A.J. McKee will go down in a lightweight scrap and fight fans will also be treated to a heavy-hitting affair as Thiago Santos meets Yoel Romero.

Also expected to feature on the card will be the return of women’s boxing ‘GWOAT’ Claressa Shields, and the pro mixed martial arts debut of Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh.

Check out the full fight card below:

PFL vs. Bellator Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 3 p.m. ET):

  • Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Jason Jackson
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Pitbull
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
  • Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
  • Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee

Prelims (ESPN News/ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. ET):

  • Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
  • Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
  • Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira

As always, the card is subject to change.

Joe Rogan Insists Fighters are ‘Wasting their careers’ by competing outside of the UFC: ‘No One’s Watching’

Joe RoganJoe Rogan hates to see fighters wasting their careers competing anywhere other than the UFC. There’s no denying that…

Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan hates to see fighters wasting their careers competing anywhere other than the UFC.

There’s no denying that Ultimate Fighting Championship is the biggest show in town. Over the last 30 years, the promotion has built itself into the biggest combat sports organization on the planet. Much of that can be credited to the incredibly deep talent pool that has introduced legends like Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Conor McGregor.

Attempting to take a piece of the pie for themselves, rival mixed martial arts organizations have popped up, including Bellator MMA and the PFL. And while those promotions have seen their fair share of homegrown stars, Rogan knows that if any of them want to achieve greatness on a financial and professional level, there’s only one place to do it.

“No disrespect to the other organizations, there’s very good fighters in the other organizations, but I often feel like they’re wasting their career,” Rogan said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “Because I see these elite fighters that are fighting in Bellator and PFL and I’m like, ‘Hey guys, no one’s watching.’ I mean, some people are watching, you’re getting a little bit of a fan base, I don’t want to disrespect, but there’s a reality.

“There’s the XFL, there’s the CFL, and then there’s the f*cking NFL. If you’re not in the f*cking NFL, are you really playing football? That’s just how it is” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Joe Rogan wants to see fighters like Johnny eblen jump to the UFC

When it comes to live ticket sales and pay-per-view revenue, nobody is bigger than the UFC. The Professional Fighters League will attempt to change that next year after a series of blockbuster moves that include signing both former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and social media star Jake Paul.

Not to mention the PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, a promotion that despite giving birth to some notable names in the world of MMA, failed to turn a profit after more than 15 years in business.

“If you’re the UFC champ, you’re the f*cking man,” Rogan said. “If you’re the Bellator champ, I respect the sh*t out of those guys. I love them. Guys like Johnny Eblen, same thing. He’s a freaking animal. I really wish that guy would come to the UFC.

“If you’re a UFC champion, the promotion is just unparalleled. There’s nothing like it. I mean everybody knows who you are when you’re the UFC champion.”

Aside from the talent on display, fight fans are often drawn to the incredible production values and the pageantry that the UFC brings to each event. It’s something Rogan believes every aspiring fighter wants and needs to experience in their career.

“There’s this feeling of being in the UFC that everybody who wants to be a fighter dreams of,” Rogan said. “You want to be there when Bruce Buffer is right in front of you going, ‘It’s time!’ You’re like, holy sh*t!”