Costello Van Steenis delivered one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history, defeating Johnny Eblen in the PFL Africa 1 main event.
Eblen largely dominated the first half of the fight with his wrestling, wearing down Van Steenis with his unrelenting ground game and clinch work. With a minute to go in the third, Van Steenis appeared to get clipped with a right hand, sending him to the canvas. Eblen dropped a big right hand and ended the round in top control.
While Eblen appeared to be in control through the first three rounds, the tide began to change in the fourth as the defending champion appeared to be running on empty while Van Steenis was getting his second wind.
Van Steenis ended the penultimate round with a flurry of strikes, including a head kick that clipped Eblen and had the American on the ropes.
With his back to the wall and in desperate need of a finish, Van Steenis bit down on his mouthpiece and managed to get on top of Eblen near the fence with time ticking down in the fifth and final round. Van Steenis managed to cinch in a rear-naked choke, but Eblen had absolutely no intention of tapping out. Despite his best effort to survive, Eblen ultimately went to sleep, bringing the bout to a crashing halt and giving Van Steenis the greatest comeback of his mixed martial arts career.
Official Results: Costello Van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked submission) at 4:51 of Round 5 to win the PFL middleweight championship.
Check Out Highlights From Johnny Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis at PFL Africa 1:
