Johnny
Eblen had one thing on his mind Saturday night, and it only
took him four minutes to get it.

Haunted by losing his
Professional Fighters League middleweight title in the final
minute eight months ago, Eblen returned in his first fight back and
reminded the world why people call him “Pressure.” Eblen battered,
ragdolled, and choked out
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Bryan
Battle en route to a first-round submission (4:10) in the

PFL Pittsburgh main event from the UMPC Events Center.

Eblen (17-1, 3-1 PFL) knew that Battle (12-3, 0-1 PFL) was a
handful on the feet, so the
American Top Team product lifted him off them and dumped “The
Ultimate Fighter” winner on his head over and over again. Every
time Battle thought he found a shred of space, Eblen dumped him
back on the canvas. Eblen finally put Battle out of his misery with
a textbook face crank from the rear-naked choke position that
forced Battle to tap.

Eblen immediately called out PFL champion Costello
van Steenis to a rematch following the win. Eblen was in
control for most of the fight against van Steenis, but a costly
error in the fifth round led to the only loss in his career.

Former PFL tournament champion Impa
Kasanganay found his way back into the winner’s column with a
first-round knockout over Pittsburgh favorite Dalton
Rosta (3:18). Both middleweights stormed into the cage looking
to redeem themselves from disappointing performances and went
gunning for the knockout as soon as possible. Kasanganay (20-6,
10-3 PFL) established that he had the quicker fists early, but that
didn’t stop Rosta (11-3, 2-2 PFL) from trading bombs in the center
of the SmartCage. Rosta started landing his own punches and backed
up Kasanganay, much to the delight of the crowd,
but in an instant, it was all over as the former champ closed the
show with a right hand, left hook combo that sent
Rosta crashing face-first into the mat. With the win, Kasanganay
keept himself in the race for a potential middleweight title
shot.

Former
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki champion Ariane
Lipski da Silva dug her fists into Sumiko
Inaba’s face over and over again en route to a decision win in
her PFL debut (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). From the opening bell, it was
clear that Inaba’s (8-3, 0-2 PFL) timing was a tick off, and Lipski
da Silva (18-11, 1-0 PFL) could find her when she stepped in range.
Lipski da Silva dropped Inaba in the second round and could smell a
TKO, but Inaba was too gutsy to go quietly. She stormed out for the
final round and found her best moments of the fight, but by then it
was too late to overcome Lipski da Silva’s dominant lead on the
cards.

Undefeated featherweight Alexei
Pergande improved to 8-0, but it wasn’t necessarily business as
usual against seasoned pro Julio Arce.
Pergande opened the fight with a two-round lead off the merits of
his savvy striking and violence in the clinch. By the end of the
first round, Pergande had Arce leaking blood all around the cage,
but Arce (21-7, 0-1 PFL) was ready for the worst. Arce was willing
to leave it on the line after catching Pergande with a right hook
midway through the third round, but Pergande wisely chose to stay
defensive. As Arce looked for a homerun shot, Pergande coasted to
the final bell and walked away with a clear decision win (29-28,
29-28, 29-28).

It wasn’t pretty, but Lazaro
Dayon protected his undefeated record with a dominant
three-round wrestling lesson over PFL debutant Jacob
Thrall. Dayron (10-0-1, 2-0-1 PFL) could basically do what he
wanted with Thrall on the ground; the only problem was that he
didn’t want to do much. Dayron didn’t press for the finish against
“Gerber Baby” and elected to smother Thrall (15-9-1) and his
five-fight win streak. Dayron, a product of the Cuban national
wrestling team, is a terror on the mat, but can the bantamweight
prospect prove to be more than a grappler?

Jack
Cartwright dug deep to walk away with the split decision win
over Allan
Begosso (29-28, 27-29, 29-28). Cartwright expected to dominate
the 140-pound catchweight bout on the ground but was stunned by a
viscous elbow up the middle that left him reeling late in the first
round. Cartwright (14-2, 2-0 PFL), however, would survive and push
Begosso (10-3-1, 0-1 PFL) with a conservative wrestling-focused
game plan. Begosso withered under his frustration and could feel
his lead slip through his fingers. Cartwright was lucky to survive
the first round but recovered and settled into the fight. Fans
voiced their displeasure, but Cartwright couldn’t have cared
less.

Jakub
Kaszuba improved to 16-0 following a hard-fought decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over the experienced lightweight Natan
Schulte. Schulte (25-6-1, 15-2-1 PFL) pressured Kaszuba and
tried to force the fight to the fence, but the two-time PFL Europe
champion countered with punches in bunches. Kaszuba’s volume over
the final two rounds of the fight accumulated damage and ended
Schulte’s four-fight win streak.

PFL debutant Dakota Bush
exploded onto the scene with a wicked first-round knockout (0:34)
over Robert
Watley. Bush (16-4, 1-0 PFL) rode in on a seven-fight win
streak, but the PFL matched him against a rising contender. Watley
(16-4 1-1 PFL) was coming off the biggest win of his career after
beating Mads
Burnell in August, but that all came crashing down within the
first minute of Saturday’s lightweight scrap.
Bush wound and whipped a right hand that came from the parking lot
and crashed it into Watley’s chin. Bush poured on the
pressure until referee Nick Burens was forced to act.

Ernesto
Rodriguez scraped past Masayuki
Kikuiri by the skin of his teeth. After storing the first two
rounds in his pocket, Rodriguez (11-1, 1-0 PFL) took a beating from
Kikuiri in the final round. Kikuiri (11-4-1, 1-2 PFL) desperately
pushed for the finish, but Rodriguez’s heart carried him to the
final bell and back into the win column after a majority decision
(28-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Tatiana
Postarnakova outgrappled the heavy-handed Elora Dana
en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in her
PFL debut. Postarnakova (5-0, 1-0 PFL) entered with a four-fight
finishing streak, but was knocked off balance by the Brazilian’s
punches in the first round. Dana (8-2, 0-2 PFL) tried to
capitalize, but ran into the Russian’s headlock. Postarnakova’s
wrestling provided opportunities to strike on the ground.
Postanakova gained confidence that she could beat Dana to a
dominant position and made her pay on the mat, grinding out a solid
win.

Josh
Fremd thought his career would crumble after being cut by the
UFC, but things are looking bright as ever after the Connelsville
native delivered an unforgettable PFL debut in front of his fellow
Pennsylvanians. Squared off against the battle-tested middleweight
veteran Jarrah
Al-Silawi, Fremd showcased skill and grit as he narrowly banked
the first two rounds
before starching Al-Silawi in the third with a check
hook (3:57). Fremd (11-6, 1-0 PFL) hadn’t won a fight
in nearly three years, but the pure elation on his face climbing
the cage as fans showered him with “USA” chants was a worth the
wait.

Frederik
Dupras opened the night with a dominant first-round submission
win (2:46) over Ethan Goss.
The Canadian featherweight wasted little time snatching a double
before powering through Goss’ butterfly guard. Durpras (10-2, 1-1
PFL) hunted for a guillotine with a ferocity that had Goss (12-9,
0-2 PFL) squirming like a squid out of the sea.
The American struggled to break before going limp.
Dupras released the grip off referee Chip Snider’s command, but
Goss wanted to keep fighting. He lost and regained consciousness so
fast that he hadn’t realized the fight was over.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger