PFL results: Johnny Eblen fends off late comeback from Fabian Edwards to win unanimous decision

Johnny Eblen probably didn’t have the performance he wanted but he’ll still leave Saudi Arabia as Bellator middleweight champion with a unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards at PFL: Battle of the Giants.

A strong start with superior wrestling and grappling kept Eblen up early but Edwards managed a late comeback that nearly shifted the momentum to his favor. Unfortunately, Edwards just waited too long to get movie and Eblen had already racked up enough on the scorecards to hold onto the victory.

All three judges scored the fight 48-47 with Eblen remaining undefeated with the fourth defense of his middleweight title.

“I kind of faded a little bit,” Eblen said afterwards. “I’m pretty satisfied. I wish I could have ended it again. Fabian’s a top level guy. He’s one of the best in the world.”

Eblen wasted no time setting the pace early as he established himself in the center of the cage and continuously found a home for a stiff right hand on Edwards’ chin. While Edwards kept attempting to set up a well-timed uppercut, Eblen avoided that punch before rushing forward and looking for the takedown.

Again and again, Eblen rag dolled Edwards around the cage as the British middleweight struggled to deal with the Bellator champion’s superior wrestling and grappling. As time passed, Eblen’s ability to drag Edwards to the canvas seemed to get easier, although he wasn’t able to produce much offense with the superior position.

Still, Eblen maintained control as he kept moving Edwards around the cage and then bringing him crashing back to the ground.

When the fight did stay on the feet, Edwards finally started to connect with a few shots but he just couldn’t keep Eblen from slipping inside and pressuring him back to the cage again. Because Edwards was so wary about getting taken down again, he was typically only throwing one strike at a time and that was much easier for Eblen to avoid.

Even with Edwards in a defensive posture, Eblen still managed to find a way to consistently toss him back to the ground as time started running out on the two-time title challenger.

It wasn’t until the final frame when Edwards finally started throwing caution to the wind because he knew a finish was the only way he had a chance to win. Edwards stabbed at Eblen with a good lead jab and even threw a few slick inside elbows just trying anything to inflict some damage.

Edwards was also digging to the body with some nasty knees but he just ran out of time before he could produce a knockout to pull off the comeback win. While it certainly wasn’t the last round that Eblen wanted, he still survived the late onslaught to get the decision and retain his title.

Now 16-0 in his career, Eblen’s biggest problem moving forward might be finding worthwhile competition to keep him interested now that he already has a pair of wins over Edwards.