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Brett Okamoto
Dutch middleweight Costello van Steenis claimed the PFL championship in spectacular fashion on Saturday, submitting longtime king Johnny Eblen in the final seconds of their title matchup.
Van Steenis (17-3) pounced on a tiring Eblen (16-1) in the fifth and left him unconscious with a rear-naked choke with just nine seconds remaining in the fight. Eblen, who won the Bellator MMA title in 2022 and essentially carried it over into the PFL in 2024, did well the majority of the bout but visibly ran out of gas down the stretch.
It was a shocking turn of events, even considering van Steenis is a talented grappler with six wins by submission coming in. Eblen was considered one of the best fighters competing outside of the UFC, and he went into Saturday as a more than 5-1 betting favorite.
In the co-main event, Dakota Ditcheva’s first appearance of 2025 looked a lot like her appearances of 2024, as she dominated Sumiko Inaba in a three-round decision. It was the first time Ditcheva (15-0) went to a decision since 2022, but that was more a testament to Inaba’s durability than it was a lack of effort by Ditcheva. Ditcheva also appeared to break her left hand in the final round.
Immediately after the win, Ditcheva, who won the PFL 2024 Championship at 125 pounds, revealed she has signed a new multi-year agreement with the fight promotion.
“I just re-signed with PFL. We came to a great agreement,” Ditcheva said. “I look forward to the next few years.”
In a featherweight bout, former Bellator MMA champion AJ McKee (23-2) rebounded from a recent split-decision loss to Paul Hughes, defeating Akhmed Magomedov by unanimous decision. McKee, 30, consistently outgrappled Magomedov (11-2) in crucial spots and added a few clean left hands and body kicks. He also threatened with a rear-naked choke at the end of the fight.
McKee, who hadn’t fought at 145 pounds since 2022 due to a prolonged run at 155, indicated he felt good at his old weight, calling it a “welcome home party.”