UNCASVILLE, Conn. – If Johnny Eblen beats Gegard Mousasi to win Bellator’s middleweight title Friday, it may come as a surprise to some.
But don’t count Eblen (11-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) among them. The unbeaten standout still may be a prospect in some people’s eyes, and he’s taking on a fighter with nearly 60 pro bouts on his resume in champion Mousasi (49-7-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) at Bellator 282 in Uncasville, Conn.
Although he’s a 2-1 underdog, Eblen expects to leave Mohegan Sun Arena as the new 185-pound titleholder after just another night at the office.
“Higher stakes, same sh*t,” Eblen told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day for Bellator 282. “It feels like the right step. It feels like nothing has really changed too much. I’m fighting a little later, fighting a few more rounds, and fighting a better guy. That’s normal when you move up.
“It’s going to put my name on the map, so it’s kind of nice. I’m going to shut some haters up, even though I don’t really care about that too much. But (I’ll) solidify my name. People will be like, ‘Damn. Johnny’s legit.’ I don’t think I’ll be ‘shocking the world.’”
Eblen said his fight against Mousasi will be different than the champ’s most recent title defense, which came against Austin Vanderford earlier this year. Like Eblen, Vanderford was unbeaten, but had a fraction of the amount of experience as Mousasi.
But Eblen isn’t letting that fight play much of a factor in his preparation. He said he’s seen other things from Mousasi in other fights that give him clues how to beat him.
“I have a lot of tools in my tool belt, and I can’t wait to utilize all these tools when I go out there,” he said. “It’s going to be a different fight, stylistically. Austin’s very wrestling heavy – a very explosive guy. I feel like he relies on a lot of explosive maneuvers to take people down. I’m a little bit different. I’m a different animal.”
Check out Eblen’s full media day interview in the video above.
Bellator 282 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Johnny Eblen: I won’t be ‘shocking the world’ taking the title from Mousasi
