It was an an action-packed weekend of fights, as UFC 318, PFL Africa, Usyk vs Dubois 2 and Pacquiao vs. Barrios all went down last Saturday (July 19, 2025), leaving plenty of fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Dustin Poirier, who was sent off into retirement with a loss courtesy of Max Holloway (see it here).
And Manny Pacquiao, who fought to a majority draw against Mario Barrios, though many felt “Pacman” had done enough to win the WBC Welterweight title in an inspired, vintage performance. And let’s not forget about Daniel Dubois, who suffered a second knockout loss at the hands Oleksandr Usyk (see it here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Johnny Eblen.
Coming into his headlining bout against Costello van Steenis, Eblen was undefeated at 16-0, which includes going 10-0 under the now-defunct Bellator MMA banner, with two title defense. He also got off to a great start with Professional Fighters League (PFL) by winning back-to-back fights against Impa Kasanganay and Fabian Edwards, winning the promotion’s 185-pound title, in the process.
And it seemed as if he was well on his way to yet another successful title defense, dominating the first 20 minutes of his fight against van Steenis using his grappling skills, mixed in with a striking attack that kept van Steenis confused the majority of the fight.
But in the fifth round, van Steenis starting to find his rhythm, managing to reverse Eblen on the ground a few times, giving him the chance to attempt a few submissions to no avail. In the closing seconds of the fight, van Steenis once again managed to take Eblen’s back, sinking an air-tight rear-naked choke with just 20 seconds left on the clock.
Determined to hang on until the final bell, Eblen refused to tap, opting to beat the clock instead. While a valiant effort, “Pressure” felt just that all around his breathing pathways, eventually leading him to go out with just 10 seconds remaining in the fight.
And just like that, his undefeated record went up in smoke thanks to a valiant, come-from-behind effort from van Steenis, who refused to wither despite being down the majority of the fight. It was a tough loss for the now-former champion, who will undoubtedly have trouble swallowing this particular pill.
Despite the setback, Eblen will undoubtedly use it as learning tool moving forward. As far as what could realistically be next for 33 year-old, perhaps a fight against Aaron Jeffery is in order. Jeffery was last seen losing to Dalton Rosta in the semifinals of the PFL Middle weight World Tournament, his second defeat against “Hercules.”
It would be a good bounce-back matchup for both men, though one of them will have to go home with his second straight defeat, while the other gets a much-needed shot of confidence with the victory.
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