Costello van Steenis delivered a massive upset. On July 19, 2025, the Dutch fighter choked out Johnny Eblen with nine seconds left in their PFL Africa main event. The fight, held at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa, saw van Steenis take the PFL middleweight title. His comeback ended Eblen’s perfect record and amazed fans.
Fight Breakdown and Stunning Finish
The five-round fight was part of PFL Champions Series 2, shown live on ESPN+. Eblen, a former Bellator champion, dominated early rounds. His wrestling and ground strikes controlled van Steenis, earning takedowns in the first two rounds. Two judges scored Eblen ahead 39-37 after four rounds.
Van Steenis fought back in round three. He blocked Eblen’s takedowns and landed kicks and punches. In round four, a low kick tripped Eblen, and van Steenis attacked with a flurry by the fence. In the final round, van Steenis took Eblen’s back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and put him out at 4:51.
DOUBT. HIM. NOW.
COSTELLO VAN STEENIS REAR NAKED CHOKE WITH 10 SECONDS LEFT!!#AndNew PFL Middleweight World Champion!#PFLCapeTown 🇿🇦 | TODAY | Grand Arena, GrandWest | Cape Town, South Africa | 🇺🇸 LIVE NOW on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/eAby40lnU6
— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 19, 2025
Costello van Steenis, now 17-3, is a 32-year-old from the Netherlands. He competed in Bellator from 2017 to 2023, going 7-2 with wins over Chris Honeycutt and Fabian Edwards. His PFL debut in April 2024 was a 48-second head kick knockout of Aaron Jeffery. Training with Gegard Mousasi, he has five knockouts and seven submissions.
Johnny Eblen, now 16-1, was undefeated before this loss. The 33-year-old American won the Bellator middleweight title against Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 in June 2022. He defended it three times, including twice against Fabian Edwards. An NCAA wrestling qualifier, Eblen joined PFL after their 2023 Bellator buyout.
PFL Africa was the promotion’s first event in South Africa. The card included heavyweight and bantamweight tournament quarterfinals, with Dakota Ditcheva beating Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Van Steenis’ victory headlined the Champions Series 2 portion, earning him the 185-pound belt.
