Johnny Eblen will face Fabian Edwards for the middleweight championship this Saturday as Bellator heads to the 3 Arena in Dublin again. Eblen will try to make his third successful title defence, whereas Edwards will be looking to bring the belt back home to the UK.
How Johnny Eblen Vs Fabian Edwards Could Play Out
The fight looks very entertaining as the two fighters are both big names in Bellator. Eblen comes into the battle with a professional record of 12-0, with half of his wins being finishes. He has an incredible wrestling pedigree as a division one wrestler. He trains out of the American Top Team camp, who have produced sensational fighters. Eblen will look to make another defence of his title to further his legacy in the sport and carry on his dominance in the division.
His opponent, Edwards, is an incredible kickboxer and is a highly entertaining fighter to watch. He is the younger brother of current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. He will look to follow in his brother’s footsteps and win a significant MMA championship. Edwards has a professional record of 12-2 with seven finishes. It would be a big moment for British MMA if he were to pull off a victory.
Eblen On His Opponent
A fighter must go into a bout with as much knowledge of their opponent as possible. Most of the time, a competitor will pick out weaknesses from their opponent and formulate a plan to expose weaknesses. Eblen talked to the New York Post about Edwards’s strengths and weaknesses.
“He’s athletic, moves well, good kickboxer, fast,” Eblen said of Edwards in an interview with the New York Post. “I’ve heard from one of my teammates he’s a pretty strong individual,” he says. “But what doesn’t impress me is he doesn’t really want to be in the fire. He wants things to be a lot cleaner. He wants it to be more technical.”
Iron Sharpens Iron
As previously stated, Edwards’s younger brother is Leon Edwards, which means he understands top-level talent well because he trains with champions. However, Eblen is no different and has even become acquainted with now UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
“He helped me train for the [Gegard] Mousasi fight. I went out to [Las] Vegas,” Eblen explained. “He hit me up. We started training a bit. We became training partners and friends. And every time I’m out in Vegas, I make sure to get rounds and train with him. And anytime he’s in Florida, usually he comes by [American Top Team].”
All quotes via MMA Mania.
It will be an intriguing battle on Saturday, and it will be entertaining.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
