PFL Cape Town Recap: Costello Van Steenis pulls off miracle finish to dethrone Johnny Eblen

The PFL took center stage this afternoon for their historic card in Cape Town, South Africa. The main event of the evening was a middleweight title fight between Johnny Eblen (16-1) and Costello Van Steenis (17-3). Eblen was the massive betting favorite entering the bout.

Van Steenis was having his moments throughout the fight, but Elben was able to neutralize him with his wrestling. That said, Eblen was gassing out badly near the end of the fourth round and Van Steenis seemed like he was seconds away from a finish. Eblen was able to secure takedowns in the fifth and it seemed like he was going to ride out a decision.

However, with less than 30 seconds left, it was the striker Van Steenis who got the back of Eblen and he was able to choke him out in the final seconds to become PFL middleweight champion.

Prior to the title fight, we saw the return of Dakota Ditcheva (15-0). Ditcheva fought for the first time since she won the 2024 PFL flyweight championship and she took on Sumiko Inaba (8-2). Inaba showed no fear as she went right after Ditcheva, but she ran into a buzzsaw. Ditcheva put on a striking clinic and brutalized Inaba over the course of 15 minutes. That said, Inaba became the first fighter in the PFL Smart Cage to go the distance with Ditcheva.

Ditcheva was visibly emotional after the fight was over because of an injury to her left hand that she sustained in the bout. She also announced that she had signed a new deal with the promotion which is massive news for the PFL. Retaining Ditcheva was a must and that’s exactly what the promotion did. I reached out to try and find out the details of the new deal, but I haven’t heard back at this time.

PFL Cape Town Main Card Recap

Kicking off the main card tonight was a heavyweight matchup between former Bellator light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson (19-6) and last year’s heavyweight champion Denis Goltsov (36-9). Anderson put on a helluva performance as he stopped the 2024 champion in the second round.

The next fight was a lightweight showcase between Artur Zaynukov (17-4) and Takeshi Izumi (6-4). Zaynukov was able to pick up the unanimous decision after three action-packed rounds. The next matchup featured the featherweight return of AJ McKee (23-2). McKee looked sensational in winning a decision over Akhmed Magomedov (11-2). It’s nice to see McKee return to the weight class where he became a star. Really looking forward to seeing what the PFL does with him next.