Eblen vs Edwards

Who won Eblen vs Edwards?

Johnny Eblen beat Fabian Edwards by knockout in the 3rd round during the main event of Bellator 299, on Saturday 23rd September 2023 at 3Arena Dublin in Dublin.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

This contest was for the Bellator Middleweight championship.

Eblen vs Edwards stats

Johnny Eblen stepped into the octagon with an undefeated record of 13 wins, zero losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Fabian Edwards made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Johnny Eblen's 11th fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2019. Fabian Edwards marked his 12th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Johnny Eblen's Bellator record stood at 11-0-0, while Fabian Edwards' came in at 9-3-0.

The stats suggested Eblen had a slight advantage in power over Edwards, with a 38% knock out percentage over Edwards' 33%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Edwards had an advantage over Eblen, with a 25% submission rate over Eblen's 8%.

Johnny Eblen was the older man by 2 years, at 33 years old.

Edwards had a 6-inch reach advantage.

Eblen was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 1 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2017, 1 month later than Edwards, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought the same amount of professional rounds, 42 to Edwards' 42.

Eblen vs Edwards form

Eblen remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 290 on 4th February 2023 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Middleweight championship fight at Kia Forum, Inglewood, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 on 24th June 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Middleweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Going into that contest, he had defeated John Salter at Bellator 276 on 11th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Family Arena, St. Louis.

Before that, he was victorious against Collin Huckbody at Bellator MMA on 3rd December 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had won against Travis Davis at Bellator 262 on 16th July 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Edwards had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beaten Gegard Mousasi at Bellator MMA Paris on 12th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, he had defeated Charlie Ward at Bellator Milan on 29th October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Allianz Cloud Arena, Milan, Italy.

Going into that contest, he was victorious against Lyoto Machida at Bellator 281 on 13th May 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at SSE Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had lost to Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

He had been beaten by Costello van Steenis at Bellator Euro Series 8 on 26th September 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Allianz Cloud, Milan, Italy.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Johnny Eblen had been fighting more than Fabian Edwards.

Going to this contest, Johnny Eblen had last fought 1 year, 10 months and 27 days ago, while Fabian Edwards' last outing had been 1 year, 7 months and 19 days ago.

Eblen's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 5 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 17 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.4 rounds on average.

Edwards' last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 3 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Eblen vs Edwards?

Johnny Eblen was a 1/6 (-630) favourite going into the contest, while Fabian Edwards made his way into the ring at 18/5 (+380) with oddsmakers.