Johnny Eblen is once again a champion after defeating Impa Kasanganay a second time last night (Sat., July 18, 2026) in the main even of PFL Austin live from inside Moody Center in Austin, Texas. In their first encounter two years ago, Eblen escaped Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a razor-thin split decision win. This time around, however, the victory was a bit more convincing.
Indeed, after a back-and-forth two round, Eblen managed to tag Kasanganay with a nasty elbow that had him rocked. Eblen was was quick
to keep pouncing and followed it up with three vicious strikes that had his foe on the canvas, ultimately forcing the referee on duty to put an end to the fight.
With the win, Eblen becomes the interim Middleweight champion and can now look ahead to a rematch against current division king, Costello Van Steenis, who handed “Pressure” his first an only defeat of his MMA career in July 2025 (see the highlights here). The two men were set to run it back at this event before Van Steenis bowed out with an injury.
Check out some of the highlights below, as well as the rest of the results and action from PFL Austin below:
PFL Austin Quick Results:
- 185 lbs.: Johnny Eblen defeats Impa Kasangany via third-round knockout
- 135 lbs.: Rafael do Nascimento defeats Lewis McGrillen via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- 145 lbs.: Julio Arce defeats Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision
- 145 lbs.: Jesus Pinedo defeats Levy Saul Marroquin via first-round TKO
- 155 lbs.: Gamid Khizriev defeats Biaggio Ali Walsh via first-round submission (twister)
- 125 lbs.: Aleksandra Savicheva defeats Andrea Vazquez via split-decision
- 125 lbs.: Ashley Thiner defeats Mia Grawe via unanimous decision
- 145 lbs.: Jackson Glass defeats Zak Flessas via first-round TKO
- 125 lbs.: Victoria Alba defeats Borena Tsertsvadze via third-round TKO
PFL Austin Highlights:
For all the latest PFL news and notes click here.
