| PFL Austin: Eblen vs. Kasanganay 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for PFL Austin: Eblen vs. Kasanganay 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Professional Fighters League | |||
| Date | July 18, 2026 (2026-07-18) | |||
| Venue | Moody Center | |||
| City | Austin, Texas, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
PFL Austin: Eblen vs. Kasanganay 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Professional Fighters League that will take place on July 18, 2026, at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United States.[1][2]
Background
The event will mark the promotion's first visit to Austin.[3]
A PFL Middleweight World Championship rematch between current champion Costello van Steenis and former Bellator Middleweight World Champion Johnny Eblen was scheduled to headline this event.[4] The pairing previously fought at PFL Champions Series 2 in July 2025, which van Steenis won the title by fifth round technical submission.[5] However, van Steenis withdrew from the bout due to sustained an injury and was replaced by 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament winner Impa Kasanganay for the interim title.[6] Eblen and Kasanganay previously met at PFL vs. Bellator in August 2024, which Eblen won the bout by split decision.[7]
Fight card
| Main card (ESPN2) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Johnny Eblen | vs. | Impa Kasanganay | [a] | |||
| Bantamweight | Sergio Pettis | vs. | Lewis McGrillen | ||||
| Featherweight | Caolán Loughran | vs. | Julio Arce | ||||
| Featherweight | Jesus Pinedo | vs. | Levy Saúl Marroquín | ||||
| Women's Flyweight | Andrea Vázquez | vs. | Aleksandra Savicheva | ||||
| Lightweight | Sergio Cossio | vs. | Kolton Englund | ||||
| Lightweight | Biaggio Ali Walsh | vs. | Gamid Khizriev | ||||
| Bantamweight | Brandon Davis | vs. | Luciano Pereira | ||||
| Women's Strawweight | Ashley Thiner | vs. | Mia Grawe | ||||
| Women's Flyweight | Borena Tsertsvadze | vs. | Victoria Alba | ||||
| Featherweight | Jackson Glass | vs. | Zak Flessas | ||||
| Bantamweight | Rafael do Nascimento | vs. | TBA | ||||
- For the interim PFL Middleweight World Championship.
See also
References
- Anderson, Jay (2026-05-06). "Costello van Steenis vs. Johnny Eblen 2 Booked for PFL Austin". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- Fridley, Mike. "Costello van Steenis, Johnny Eblen rematch booked for July at PFL Austin". Sherdog. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- Holland, Jesse (2026-05-06). "Costello van Steenis vs. Johnny Eblen title fight rematch headlines PFL Austin on July 18". MMA Mania: UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- Samano, Simon. "PFL books Costello van Steenis vs. Johnny Eblen 2 for Austin event headliner". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- Anderson, Jay (2026-07-19). "PFL Cape Town: Costello van Steenis Shocks, Subs Johnny Eblen with Nine Seconds Left". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- "Costello van Steenis out of PFL Austin; interim title fight booked". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- Dewar, Val (2024-02-24). "PFL vs. Bellator: Johnny Eblen Earns Nod Over Impa Kasanganay in Card's Best Battle". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- "PFL Austin: van Steenis vs. Eblen 2". Professional Fighters League. Retrieved 2026-05-06.