Johnny Eblen is still undefeated and still Bellator champion.
Eblen successfully defended his middleweight title Saturday in the main event of Bellator 299 at 3Arena in Dublin. Eblen (14-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) dropped Fabian Edwards (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) early in the third round and then finished him with ground-and-pound shortly after to log his second successful title defense.
The official result was a knockout win in favor of Eblen at the 0:21 mark of Round 3.
.@JohnnyEblen finishes Fabian Edwards!#Bellator299 is LIVE on @showtime! pic.twitter.com/6I1CeiMWeq
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) September 23, 2023
“Pressure” then hovered over hurt Edwards and shouted at him. Fabian’s brother, UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, wasn’t happy with Eblen’s gestures and the two had a confrontation in the cage that forced security to step in and separate the two.
Shortly after, cooler heads prevailed, and Eblen and Leon shook hands.
Things got heated after the bell between @JohnnyEblen and Leon Edwards. #Bellator299 LIVE on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/s1XK2zJ1B0
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 2023
Prior to the stoppage, the fight was going Eblen’s way with a few minor hiccups. Eblen had a leg kick-heavy attack and used his wrestling to press and control Edwards against the cage. He had a volume advantage that seemed to put him over in the fight. Edwards did land a few shots, and even an elbow that cut Eblen’s forehead, but mainly lacked volume.
Eblen defended the middleweight title for the second time. His first defense came in February agaianst Russia’s Anatoly Tokov in a unanimous decision. Eblen became champion in June 2022 when he took the belt from Gegard Mousasi.
Edwards saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end with the defeat. It also was the first stoppage loss of his career.
Below are complete Bellator 299 results:
- Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:21
- Aaron Pico def. Pedro Carvalho via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:05
- Sara Collins def. Sinead Kavanagh via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mads Burnell def. Daniel Weichel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Levan Chokheli def. Sabah Homasi via knockout (front kick) – Round 1, 1:51
- Daniele Miceli vs. Peter Queally ruled no contest (accidental illegal head kick)
- Jay Jay Wilson def. Mansour Barnaoui via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Gregory Babene def. Charlie Ward via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:02
- Ciaran Clarke def. Przemyslaw Gorny via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:52
- Luca Poclit def. Roman Faraldo via submission (D’arce choke) – Round 1, 2:18
- Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Piotr Niedzielski via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:15
- Darragh Kelly def. Jelle Zeegers via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:42
- Otto Rodrigues def. Brian Moore via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:31
- Attila Korkmaz def. Davy Gallon via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 0:23
- Asael Adjoudj def. Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Josh O’Connor def. Kenny Mokhonoana via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Romain Debienne def. Nicolo Solli via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:39
- Sergey Bilostenniy def. Kasim Aras via TKO (spinning wheel kick, punches) – Round 1, 2:33
- Mark Ewen def. Noah Gugnon via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:51
- Mackenzie Stiller def. Chiara Penco via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.
