THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Johnny Eblen knew he was staring down the barrel of a step up in competition, as well as heading to the next level in his fight career.
And while the end result was what he was after – a win – at Bellator 218 this past Friday, he said he’ll get right back to work trying to make his next one the kind of victory that gets people’s attention.
Eblen (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made his promotional debut at Bellator 218 and outworked Chauncey Foxworth (9-8 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) for a unanimous decision in their middleweight bout on the prelims.
“I kind of expected him to be tough,” Eblen told MMA Junkie backstage after the fight. “I knew he was a fighter, a brawler. But as soon as I got my hands on him, I knew I was going to win the fight. It went three rounds, and I didn’t want it to go three rounds. I wanted to finish the guy. But he’s a tough dude. He didn’t give up. He didn’t give me too many openings to get the finish, or I didn’t pull the trigger when I saw the finish.”
Bellator 218 took place at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Eblen, who had four finishes in his first four pro fights, trains at American Top Team in South Florida. So he’s got no shortage of brains to pick when it comes to getting ready for his next Bellator fight.
But already, he said he felt like he belonged when he got into the cage.
“I felt kind of at home,” he said. “It was a perfect step up in venue size, in ring size – the ring was a lot bigger. I actually liked it. And also a step up in competition – the dude was tough.”
For more from Eblen, check out the video above.
And for complete coverage of Bellator 218, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
