Media Johnny Eblen asking himself what he's fighting for in PFL

[JoeRowe]

Ellen vs Caio would be a fun #1 contender fight to see who is next after Imavov

 

[SamuraiBro]

You never know, he's still youngish and has an insane work ethic.

He could. But he also went life and death with Impa Kasanganay. His win over Mousasi was good, but he’s been checked out for a long time.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Just a bad matchup I think, though his last two wins have definitely left a lot to be desired indeed.

Still, an undefeated, durable hulking wrestler is always going to be an interesting addition to the division. RDR looked terrible after fighting Malykhin twice (who just recently looked like shit himself) and now he's about to fight Whittaker while carrying a ton of momentum.

MW isn't a very deep weight class so Johnny can still wind up as a strong contender just on his wrestling alone imo.

Here's the thing: RDR was a two division champ who only lost to a roided up Maly, him and Eblen are two different stories. His wrestling isn't Khamzat levels to carry him to the top. I do think in the UFC he would be a fringe top 10 guy who could poke into the top 5 with good matchmaking, but I don't see him wearing the belt.

 

[Thesnake101]

Here's the thing: RDR was a two division champ who only lost to a roided up Maly, him and Eblen are two different stories. His wrestling isn't Khamzat levels to carry him to the top. I do think in the UFC he would be a fringe top 10 guy who could poke into the top 5 with good matchmaking, but I don't see him wearing the belt.

RDR was a tow division champ in ONE, a promotion that is notoriously struggling for talent in the heavier weight classes as evidenced by them bringing out Aung all the damn time to serve as a sacrificial lamb now that he's old as hell, but even at his peak he wasn't that good.

You don't think the Eblen that dropped Moose, dominated Tokov and mauled Fabian would've done the same in ONE? I mentioned RDR because I could see Eblen having similar success as him, though maybe not as entertaining. Neither guy will wear the belt most likely, but Johnny stands a better chance of breaking out as an elite contender imo.

Obviously he wouldn't be fighting GM3, Holland or Bo given his undefeated status, but I think he'd more than hang with the Dolidze's of the world.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

There are small local promotions actually making more profits than the PFL.

tbf I make more profit than PFL by virtue of not losing millions of dollars a year.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Eblen is good but I have a feeling he wouldn't be a top contender in the UFC, top 10 yes but not a title contender.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

RDR was a tow division champ in ONE, a promotion that is notoriously struggling for talent in the heavier weight classes as evidenced by them bringing out Aung all the damn time to serve as a sacrificial lamb now that he's old as hell, but even at his peak he wasn't that good.

Sure, but my point was that RDR, current MW, has his only loss to a roided out HW. Everyone else, he's beaten, in two divisions for two belts, shallow as they may have been at the time. The guy is really good with only two decision wins in 20.

You don't think the Eblen that dropped Moose, dominated Tokov and mauled Fabian would've done the same in ONE?

Probably would have done similarly at 205 and would have got BTFO by Anatoly just as quickly as RDR did. I don't think Eblen would look good at all at 225, even against Aung. Would he have grinded him out with a decision? Maybe, but it would have looked ugly as shit. Again, we're talking about the guy that went life and death with Impa Kasanganay putting on 40lbs and trying to implement the same wrestling heavy gameplan. That really isn't something I'd be willing to bet.

I'm definitely not going to argue that ONE's heavier divisions weren't thin as all hell, but you work with what you have (as the fighter) I suppose.

Let's be real fella: A 60 fight Moose isn't top contender, permanent "What if?" Mousasi anymore. Fabian Edwards also beat him the immediate fight after and I don't think Fabian is that good either, so much so that I would pick the likes of Dolidze over him.

Eblen was a -300 favorite over Tokov. Tokov would go on to lose to an 83(!) fight deep Alex Shlemenko (with Storm avenging a previous loss). To be fair, it was a split decision, but still, Tokov though having an impressive record is someone i'm even less impressed with than the aforementioned, Storm and Gerald Harris are his best wins.

Neither guy will wear the belt most likely, but Johnny stands a better chance of breaking out as an elite contender imo.

This I agree with, and out of the PFL guys Eblen definitely has the best chance of breaking out as a contender. Where he's skilled, he's skilled. He's a better Bo Nickal, that's more or less my opinion of him.

Obviously he wouldn't be fighting GM3, Holland or Bo given his undefeated status, but I think he'd more than hang with the Dolidze's of the world.

I would give him Brendan Allen or Paulo Costa as a debut. See where he stands with that, as it's the lowest ranked "names" 50/50 fights I can think of for Eblen. Costa is a 50/50 because of his stupid power that he'll put into 4 strikes in every fight, Allen for being a bad stylistic matchup for Eblen, but a notorious brainfarter.
However, I think he already runs into a wall with someone like Fluffy Hernandez, then again I pick Fluffy over the Bellator top 5 MWs WAR FLUFFY