Having had only one fight in 2020, middleweight Johnny Eblen was looking to have a more productive year in 2021 and was able to have just that.
In three bouts in 2021, Eblen picked up three victories, raising his career-starting winning streak to 10 in a row.
“I got two finishes and one beatdown, and really got to showcase my skillsets,” Eblen told MMAWeekly.com. “My wrestling, my striking, my aggressiveness, my personality kind of showed too. It was a successful year for me, and I’m looking to continue it on in 2022.”
In terms of developing his game, Eblen feels like not one area of his game stood out, but that everything has been evolving at a good clip.
“Nothing in particular; I think my overall game got better,” said Eblen. “I’m consistently getting better in my wrestling, my takedown game, my jiu-jitsu, even my mindset and athleticism. Just overall as a human I think I’m on the uptrend.”
On March 12 in St. Louis, Missouri, Eblen (10-0) will look to remain undefeated when he takes on John Salter (18-5) in a main card 185-pound bout at Bellator 276.
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“I’m looking to sprawl-n-brawl this dude,” Eblen said of Salter. “And if I have to I can out-grapple him. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight. They’re going to see a lot of violence and really enjoy the show that I’m going to put on.”
With how his career has started off, Eblen sees no reason why he can’t work his way towards a title shot in the very near future.
“I go one fight at a time but I think I’m going to have the Bellator belt around my waist by the end of it,” said Eblen. “It doesn’t matter, but I think it’s going to happen this year based on my career is going, based off how I think things are going to play out.
“The fans are going to want to see that fight. Everybody at Bellator is going to want to see that happen. I’m going to make it happen – that’s my job, to keep winning and make big championship fights happen.”
Johnny Eblen Bellator: ‘I’m looking to sprawl-n-brawl’ at Bellator 276
