pfl.info\/austin<\/a>.\u00a0Additional\u00a0bouts will be announced shortly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the fight fans have been asking for since the moment Costello secured the rear-naked choke in the final seconds of their first world championship fight,\u201d\u00a0said PFL CEO John Martin.\u00a0\u201cThere were a lot of opinions about how that fight ended, and both fighters have something to prove. Now we have a massive rematch with everything on the line, validation for The Spaniard, or redemption for Pressure. I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0wait to see how it plays out on July 18.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Van Steenis and Eblen first met in July 2025 for the inaugural PFL Middleweight World Championship, producing one of the most dramatic finishes in recent MMA history. Eblen controlled the fight and was seconds away from victory before van Steenis changed everything, securing a rear-naked choke in the\u00a0final moments\u00a0of the fifth round to capture the title and hand\u00a0Eblen\u00a0the first loss of his professional career.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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One moment decided their first meeting in\u00a0Africa\u00a0and that moment has defined everything since.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Van Steenis returned to prove it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0a fluke. In his first title defense, he delivered a\u00a0statement\u00a0performance against Fabian Edwards at\u00a0PFL Madrid,\u00a0finishing the fight by third-round TKO and reinforcing his claim as the best middleweight in the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cI wanted this rematch with Eblen from the moment the first fight ended,\u201d said van Steenis. \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot being said about that first result, and I\u2019m looking forward to proving, definitively, that I\u2019m the better fighter on July 18.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eblen also responded. In his return, he dominated UFC veteran Bryan Battle at\u00a0PFL Pittsburgh\u00a0from start to finish, securing a first-round rear-naked choke and\u00a0immediately\u00a0reestablishing himself as the division\u2019s top contender.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0gotta\u00a0get that belt back.\u201d\u00a0Eblen\u00a0screamed\u00a0following his win over Battle.\u00a0\u201cCostello if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0watching,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0coming for you baby,\u00a0revenge.\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0go,\u00a0revenge!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Validation vs. redemption.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For van Steenis, this is\u00a0validation,\u00a0beating Eblen once\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0enough. He must prove it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0timing,\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0luck, and\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0a single moment, but that he is, without question, the best\u00a0middleweight in the world. For Eblen, this is\u00a0redemption. Not a comeback. Not a reset. Taking back the title he believes should never truly\u00a0left\u00a0him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On July 18, the PFL middleweight division\u00a0doesn\u2019t move forward until this is settled.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Updated\u202fPFL\u00a0Austin\u202fMain Card:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moody Center\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Austin, Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n
July 18\u00a0|\u00a08\u00a0pm ET \/\u00a05\u00a0pm PT\u00a0<\/p>\n
PFL\u00a0Middleweight World Championship Main Event:\u00a0C-Costello\u00a0van\u00a0Steenis\u00a0(18-3) vs. #1-Johnny Eblen\u00a0(17-1)\u00a0<\/p>\n
###\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\n
UPCOMING\u00a0PFL\u00a0SCHEDULE:\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Saturday, May 23 -\u202fPFL\u00a0Brussels\u202f-\u202fING Arena – Brussels, Belgium\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Saturday, June 27 \u2013\u202fPFL\u00a0San Diego\u202fPresented by GOVX\u202f\u2013 Pechanga Arena\u202fSan Diego\u202f\u2013 San Diego,\u202fCalifornia\u00a0<\/p>\n
Saturday, July 18 \u2013\u00a0PFL\u00a0Austin\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Moody Center\u00a0\u2013 Austin, Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n
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###\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global mixed martial arts organization and one of the world\u2019s leading combat sports properties.\u00a0PFL\u00a0produces live, premium MMA events broadcast and streamed to fans in more than 170 countries through an extensive network of international media partners. The organization features a roster of professional fighters\u202frepresenting\u202fthe highest levels of international mixed martial arts\u202fcompetition.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Headquartered in the United States,\u00a0PFL\u00a0holds events across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with continued global expansion underway.\u00a0PFL\u00a0is backed by leading institutional investors and professional sports team owners, reflecting the accelerating growth of MMA as a mainstream global sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global mixed martial arts organization and one of the world\u2019s leading combat sports properties.\u00a0PFL\u00a0produces live, premium MMA events broadcast and streamed to fans in more than 170 countries through an extensive network of international media partners. The organization features a roster of professional fighters\u202frepresenting\u202fthe highest levels of international mixed martial arts\u202fcompetition.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Headquartered in the United States,\u00a0PFL\u00a0holds events across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with continued global expansion underway.\u00a0PFL\u00a0is backed by leading institutional investors and professional sports team owners, reflecting the accelerating growth of MMA as a mainstream global sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Tickets for PFL Austin at the Moody Center Are Available Through\u00a0Ticketmaster\u00a0 \u00a0 Presale Begins\u00a0Today at 12:00 PM…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,5963,85],"class_list":["post-653806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-pfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}