Johnny Eblen doesn’t see a scenario where Fabian Edwards beats him.
Middleweight champion Eblen (13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) defends his title against Edwards (12-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 299, which takes place Sept. 23 at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Edwards is enjoying his best career-run after scoring a decisive win over former champ Gegard Mousasi, but undefeated Eblen thinks he’ll be too much for him.
“He’s been training, got a few more fights under his belt, definitely gained some more experience,” Eblen told MMA Junkie Radio. “(He’s) probably made a few adjustments, learned from those losses, probably learned from his wins because the best guys in the world learn from their wins and their losses. I just don’t see him beating me in any circumstance.
“He has gotten better and I have seen a progression in him, but it’s just not relative to the progression I’ve made even since my last fight. I’m going to be too much for him. I’m going to overwhelm him. I’m a different animal when I’m in there and he’s going to feel it.”
Eblen notched his first title defense February when he defeated Anatoly Tokov by unanimous decision in the Bellator 290 co-main event. That’s when he gained confidence that he’ll be a tall order for anyone at 185 pounds.
“I would say since after my Tokov fight – actually, leading up to that fight I started to feel like, ‘Damn, dude – I’m getting good,'” Eblen said. “‘I’m sparring with really high-level guys and doing better than I thought.’ It’s hard to digest sparring when you’re in it, but luckily enough Mike Brown likes to film a lot of my sparring, so I get to watch back and get to learn. I get to see how well I do and sometimes I’m too hard on myself, and I think it’s a good thing though.
“I think it’s the reason why I’m accelerating and getting so much better. Basically, I’m seeing how well I’m doing and how much better I’m getting exponentially, especially in the timeframe I’m doing it in. I truly think I’m the best or one of the best in the world, and I’m here to prove it. I can’t wait to prove it. I’m just going to keep winning fights and getting better.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.
