Bellator 290: Johnny Eblen Proves His Worth With Title Defense

Many believe you are not truly the champion until you defend the belt. Johnny Eblen did just that at Bellator 290.

Eblen earned a successful middleweight title defense over Anatoly Tokov in the co-main event live on CBS. He moved to 13-0 with the win, with the last nine victories coming inside the Bellator cage.

“Yeah I was pretty happy with the performance. I’m pretty critical of myself,” he said. “I’m going to watch it back and pick it apart. I got hit. I don’t want to get hit. The Suplex could have been better, I’m just kidding. It was a pretty good suplex.

“I think I’m the best in the world now. How I’m training, how much I’m getting better exponentially, I think I’m the best in the world.”

Last summer, Eblen stunned the MMA world with a convincing decision over Gegard Mousasi to claim the crown. He’s also bested John Salter and Collin Huckbody during his win streak.

Eblen found his training home in Florida after growing up in Kansas City where he was a standout prep wrestler before competing at the University of Missouri. He trains with American Top Team and some of the best fighters in the world.

“I have the best team in the world at American Top Planet,” he said. “I appreciate you Dan (Lambert). You gave me a playground to get better.

“I’ll do whatever. I don’t give a shit. I’m one of the best middleweight in the world. I am the best middleweight in the world. I’m going to clean out this division, then I’ll do superfights.”