‘I want to fight the Chimaevs’… PFL star teases UFC signing as his contract expiration fast approaches

Johnny Eblen reveals PFL contract expires in 2026, opening the door to a UFC move

Among the Bellator champions who arrived under the PFL banner in the 2023 acquisition is Johnny Eblen, an undefeated middleweight who is as highly regarded as they come.

While not as publicly critical as some others, Eblen has made his frustration known when it comes to inactivity in the PFL.

And although ‘Johnny Pressure’ is gearing up for his return to action at the high-profile PFL Cape Town event in July, it looks as though the American already has one foot out the PFL door.

“Early next year, my contract expires,” Eblen said on the Fight In Sight podcast. “It’s just however that plays out. Maybe I fight once, don’t fight again, contract expires, we’ll see what we do.

“I beat this guy (Costello van Steenis), I’m not fighting the top five guys in the world, plain and simple. I’m a top five guy, top three, I think I’m the best. But it sucks when you’re there and you can’t fight guys ranked either ahead of you (or) just below.

“I just want to fight, but most importantly, I want to fight the best guys in the world. I want to fight the (Khamzat) Chimaevs, I want to fight the (Dricus) du Plessis’…there’s no capacity for me to do that with where I’m at currently.”

Johnny Eblen branded ‘best middleweight in the world’ over Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev

At 16-0 and coming off a dominant Bellator title reign that included three successful defenses, Eblen is widely seen as one of the top fighters competing outside of the UFC.

But Eblen’s coach at American Top Team, Mike Brown, holds the 33-year-old in even higher esteem.

While speaking to MMA Fighting, Brown picked his fighter as the best at 185 pounds over Du Plessis, the current UFC champion, and the South African’s next challenger, Chimaev.

“Johnny Eblen’s the best middleweight in the world,” Brown said. “Today, right now, he is the best middleweight in the world. You put him against anybody and he wins, I believe that.

“Striking, conditioning, grappling, wrestling…if things go bad in the fight, he finds ways to overcome it. Bad cut? Get rocked? Whatever, he finds a way.

“The sport’s crazy, anything can happen. But I think this guy’s the best middleweight in the world,” Brown added.

Following his long-awaited return against Van Steenis on July 19, Eblen will no doubt be paying close attention to Du Plessis and Chimaev’s headliner at UFC 319 in August.

By the sound of things, it would take some expert negotiations from the PFL to convince the undefeated middleweight from pursuing the likes of ‘Stillknocks’ and ‘Borz’ inside the Octagon.