Tag: Fabian Edwards

Bellator Champions Series: Belfast results: Fabian Edwards edges out Aaron Jeffery to earn title rematch vs. Johnny Eblen

Fabian Edwards got himself a title rematch vs. Johnny Eblen after defeating Aaron Jeffery at Bellator Belfast.

It wasn’t pretty, but [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] got the job done.

The Bellator middleweight contender was able to edge out [autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] in a lackluster unanimous decision win on the main card of Bellator Champions Series: Belfast, which took place on Friday at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Edwards (13-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) officially defeated Jeffery (14-5 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) by winning 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards.

The bout between Edwards and Jeffery was labeled as a title eliminator ahead of the event. After the verdict, it was confirmed that Edwards earned a title shot against Johnny Eblen.

“I’m coming,” Edwards said in his post-fight interview when asked about Eblen. “Listen, in September last year, I was winning that fight, and I made the wrong decision and got caught, but I’m coming.”

Edwards, brother of UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, was knocked out by Eblen in the third round of their championship fight back in September at Bellator 299. It was his first professional KO loss. The only two prior defeats for Edwards had come by decision.

The fight against Jeffery was Edwards’ first fight since losing the championship bout. It was a lackluster decision where Jeffery was constantly looking to pressure and control Edwards against the cage. Although Edwards gave up a lot of control time, he was able to do the most damage and land the bigger shots of the fight.

Edwards is now 4-1 in his past five outings – a run that includes notable wins over veterans Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi.

On the other hand, Jeffery now finds himself 1-2 in his past three performances. He has defeated Dalton Rosta in his previous outing in August, which allowed him to bounce back from a decision loss to John Salter.

Up-to-the-minute BCS: Belfast results include:

[lawrence-related id=2726823,2726312]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Belfast.

Fabian Edwards hopes Johnny Eblen stays champion: ‘Even a loss confirmed that I can beat that guy’

Fabian Edwards is eager to run things back with Johnny Eblen.

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] is eager to run things back with [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag].

Edwards (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) meets Aaron Jeffery (14-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) March 22 at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast at SSE Arena, in what he projects to be a title eliminator.

Edwards is coming off a knockout loss to middleweight champion Eblen (15-0 MMAA, 10-0 BMMA) this past September at Bellator 299. One judge had him up two rounds, and Edwards thinks he was en route to winning before he got caught in Round 3.

“Even a loss confirmed that I can beat that guy,” Edwards told MMA Junkie Radio. “I gave him a nasty cut. I felt like I was winning that fight. I defended the takedowns, he never landed anything before the fight was ended.

“He never landed anything I thought was too powerful. I’ve been working for the past six months to get back to that title fight and Bellator say I’m one fight away from it now so, I’m excited.”

Eblen squeaked past Impa Kasanganay at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions in February. Edwards is not a fan of Eblen as a person – branding him as fake, but is glad to see him remain unbeaten.

“He needs to keep that belt,” Edwards said. “When I’d seen that he won the fight against Impa, I was like, ‘OK, I don’t like the guy, but I’m happy he kept it,’ because I feel like it’s part of my story for him to keep the belt, for me to come back and take it off him.”

After seeing his performance against Kasanganay, Edwards wasn’t impressed at all by Eblen.

“He looked terrible,” Edwards said. “He looked like he hadn’t improved one bit. I know he’s the champ and all of that so you have to give him credit, but people can’t look at me and say skill for skill, he’s the best guy in the fighting world. I feel like he hasn’t improved in the areas he needs to improve on.”

[lawrence-related id=2682564,2642269]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 302.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 5-11)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 5-11.

Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery targeted for Bellator 302 in Belfast

A matchup between top-ranked middleweights Fabian Edwards and Aaron Jeffery is in the works for Bellator 302.

A matchup between top-ranked middleweights is in the works for Bellator 302.

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] is expected to take place at Bellator 302 March 22 in Belfast in Northern Ireland at SSE Arena. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from John Morgan.

Edwards (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) will look to rebound from his knockout loss to middleweight champion Johnny Eblen at Bellator 299 in September. Prior to that, Edwards was on a three-fight winning streak – including a win over former champ Gegard Mousasi.

Jeffery (14-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is coming off a unanimous decision win over formerly unbeaten Dalton Rosta at Bellator 298. The former CFFC champion has won four of his past five.

The latest Bellator 302 lineup includes:

  • Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore – for vacant light heavyweight title
  • Leah McCourt vs. Sinead Kavanagh
  • James Gallagher vs. Jeremy Kennedy
  • Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for September: An ultra-rare title fight draw

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for September.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Johnny Eblen’s third-round knockout win over Fabian Edwards in the Bellator 299 main event.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag]’s third-round knockout win over [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] to defend the middleweight title at Bellator 299 at 3Arena in Dublin. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator)

Bellator 299 results: Johnny Eblen KOs Fabian Edwards, gets into confrontation with UFC champ Leon Edwards

Johnny Eblen knocked out Fabian Edwards and then got into a confrontation with his brother, UFC champ Leon Edwards.

[autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] is still undefeated and still Bellator champion.

Eblen successfully defended his middleweight title Saturday in the main event of Bellator 299 at 3Arena in Dublin. Eblen (14-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) dropped [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) early in the third round and then finished him with ground-and-pound shortly after to log his second successful title defense.

The official result was a knockout win in favor of Eblen at the 0:21 mark of Round 3.

“Pressure” then hovered over hurt Edwards and shouted at him. Fabian’s brother, UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, wasn’t happy with Eblen’s gestures and the two had a confrontation in the cage that forced security to step in and separate the two.

Shortly after, cooler heads prevailed, and Eblen and Leon shook hands.

[lawrence-related id=2681924,2682158,2682057]

Prior to the stoppage, the fight was going Eblen’s way with a few minor hiccups. Eblen had a leg kick-heavy attack and used his wrestling to press and control Edwards against the cage. He had a volume advantage that seemed to put him over in the fight. Edwards did land a few shots, and even an elbow that cut Eblen’s forehead, but mainly lacked volume.

Eblen defended the middleweight title for the second time. His first defense came in February agaianst Russia’s Anatoly Tokov in a unanimous decision. Eblen became champion in June 2022 when he took the belt from Gegard Mousasi.

Edwards saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end with the defeat. It also was the first stoppage loss of his career.

Below are complete Bellator 299 results:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030791]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.

Fabian Edwards plans on turning Johnny Eblen into a panic wrestler at Bellator 299: ‘At heart, that’s what he is’

Fabian Edwards doesn’t see Johnny Eblen standing with him for too long.

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] standing with him for too long.

Edwards (12-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) challenges middleweight champion Eblen (13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 299, which takes place Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Edwards is going up against an NCAA Division I wrestler in Eblen, but is confident that once he gets his hands on him, Eblen will be desperately shooting for takedowns.

“Be Fabian Edwards, and that’s land heavy shots on him, make him uncomfortable in there and turn him into a panic wrestler,” Edwards said during Thursday’s Bellator 299 media day. “At heart, that’s what he is. So you’re going to go back to what you are by me making him realize that real quick.”

According to BetMGM, Edwards is a +425 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would net a $425 profit. Eblen is a -600 favorite, meaning a $600 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100 profit.

Edwards once was undefeated himself, but after tasting defeat, he realized having an unbeatable mindset could be to his detriment.

“When you’ve never lost before, you think, ‘Nah, I can never lose. That would never happen to me,'” Edwards said. “That would be his downfall. He thinks he could never lose, and that’s a good mindset to have. But when I go in there, when the shots are flying at him and he’s in a fight, then he’ll realize.”

[lawrence-related id=2680531,2678786]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.

Johnny Eblen doesn’t see Fabian Edwards winning in any circumstance: ‘I’m going to overwhelm him’

Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen doesn’t see a scenario where Fabian Edwards beats him.

[autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] doesn’t see a scenario where [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] beats him.

Middleweight champion Eblen (13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) defends his title against Edwards (12-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 299, which takes place Sept. 23 at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Edwards is enjoying his best career-run after scoring a decisive win over former champ Gegard Mousasi, but undefeated Eblen thinks he’ll be too much for him.

“He’s been training, got a few more fights under his belt, definitely gained some more experience,” Eblen told MMA Junkie Radio. “(He’s) probably made a few adjustments, learned from those losses, probably learned from his wins because the best guys in the world learn from their wins and their losses. I just don’t see him beating me in any circumstance.

“He has gotten better and I have seen a progression in him, but it’s just not relative to the progression I’ve made even since my last fight. I’m going to be too much for him. I’m going to overwhelm him. I’m a different animal when I’m in there and he’s going to feel it.”

Eblen notched his first title defense February when he defeated Anatoly Tokov by unanimous decision in the Bellator 290 co-main event. That’s when he gained confidence that he’ll be a tall order for anyone at 185 pounds.

“I would say since after my Tokov fight – actually, leading up to that fight I started to feel like, ‘Damn, dude – I’m getting good,'” Eblen said. “‘I’m sparring with really high-level guys and doing better than I thought.’ It’s hard to digest sparring when you’re in it, but luckily enough Mike Brown likes to film a lot of my sparring, so I get to watch back and get to learn. I get to see how well I do and sometimes I’m too hard on myself, and I think it’s a good thing though.

“I think it’s the reason why I’m accelerating and getting so much better. Basically, I’m seeing how well I’m doing and how much better I’m getting exponentially, especially in the timeframe I’m doing it in. I truly think I’m the best or one of the best in the world, and I’m here to prove it. I can’t wait to prove it. I’m just going to keep winning fights and getting better.”

[lawrence-related id=2614486,2614175,2613968]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 8-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from May 8-15.