Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards meet Saturday on the main card of PFL: Battle of the Giants at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards PFL Super Fights preview
Eblen (15-0) hopes to stay undefeated by defending his Bellator middleweight title for the third time when he rematches Edwards (13-3). The last time these two met, it was competitive until Eblen found the knockout just 21 seconds into the third round. … Since that fight, Eblen won a split decision against 2023 PFL champion Impa Kasanganay this past February. … Edwards rebounded from his title-fight loss with a unanimous decision win over Aaron Jeffery this past March.
Johnny Eblen (15-0) vs. Fabian Edwards (13-3)
Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards expert pick, prediction
Their first fight, which went down in September of last year, was a very competitive contest that saw Eblen sustain a potentially fight-ending cut before emphatically finishing Edwards in the following frame.
Since then, both fighters have had to dig out hard-fought wins, but I believe that the fighting dynamic between these two has remained the same.
Edwards, for as talented as he is, is not urgent enough when it comes to both striking output and getting his back put to the fence.
For that reason, I have a hard time picking against a tactically flexible fighter like Eblen who will – at least in theory – always have the wrestling option in his back pocket.
The official pick is for Eblen to pitch a shutout on the scorecards with a unanimous decision win.
Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards odds
The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the sitting champion, listing Eblen (-480) and Edwards (+330) via FanDuel.
Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards start time, how to watch
As the featured bout, Eblen and Edwards are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view in the U.S. and DAZN pay-per-view internationally.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
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