Overview
- Promotional officials announced Wednesday that Costello van Steenis will defend the PFL middleweight belt against Johnny Eblen on July 18 at Austin’s Moody Center.
- The main card airs on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, with prelims on the ESPN app at 5 p.m. ET, and tickets are available through presale.
- Their first meeting in summer 2025 ended when van Steenis sealed a rear‑naked choke in the closing seconds to claim the inaugural title and hand Eblen his first loss.
- Van Steenis (18-3) enters off a March title defense in Madrid, where he stopped Fabian Edwards to extend his win streak to four.
- Eblen (17-1) rebounded in March by finishing UFC veteran Bryan Battle in the PFL Pittsburgh main event, and PFL’s CEO says fans pushed for this validation‑versus‑redemption matchup.