Eblen questions van Steenis injury after PFL Austin withdrawal forces interim title bout

Johnny Eblen has cast doubt on Costello van Steenis’s injury, claiming the PFL middleweight champion may simply have wanted more preparation time after pulling out of their scheduled July 18 rematch at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Van Steenis withdrew from the PFL Austin main event citing injury, forcing the promotion to book Eblen against Impa Kasanganay for the interim middleweight title instead. The bout had carried added significance for Eblen, who lost to van Steenis at PFL Africa 1 in July 2025 and was seeking swift revenge.

“I want to stay active, and he didn’t want to fight [in] July… He wanted to push it to later so, it is what it is,” Eblen told MMAJunkie. “He’s being a bitch. I guess he got hurt, but from what I heard… I guess he’s been training. So, whatever injury he had wasn’t serious.”

Eblen elaborated on his scepticism, arguing that a fighter who is able to train is capable of competing. “I think he just wants a little more time because at the end of the day, guys fight injured, but how bad of an injury is it? Is it something you can’t train with or fight with? And apparently, he’s been training so, I think he just didn’t want to have a quick turnaround and it didn’t work for him.”

To reinforce his point, Eblen cited his training partner Sean Strickland, who competed against Khamzat Chimaev with a separated shoulder in the week of the fight. “I have little injuries all the time that I train with and I fight with. Guys aren’t 100 percent healthy when they show up in the ring,” Eblen said.

With the rematch shelved for now, Eblen shifts his focus to Kasanganay and the interim belt, though a unification clash with van Steenis remains the likely horizon if both men win their respective next outings.