The middleweight standouts met in a thrilling contest this past Saturday at PFL Africa, where van Steenis outlasted Eblen to score a shocking rear-naked choke submission win with less than 10 seconds remaining in the final round. Van Steenis’ win earned him a PFL title and made him the first fighter to defeat Eblen.

A longtime training partner of Gegard Mousasi, van Steenis built his name in Bellator where he went 7-2 prior to PFL's merger. A 48-second head kick in his PFL debut earned him a crack at Eblen, who had never lost prior to Saturday's bout.

Costello van Steenis shocks MMA world, submits undefeated Johnny Eblen at PFL Africa to become new PFL middleweight champion.