Bellator Dublin Preview: Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards Prediction, Odds, and Picks (Sep 23)
- Undefeated Bellator Middleweight champ Johnny Eblen is defending his title in Dublin.
- Each of Eblen’s two title fights in Bellator MMA lasted for a full five rounds.
- Leon Edwards’s younger bro Fabian is one of the toughest fighters in the division.
Bellator MMA is back after a six-week break. The next event on the schedule is Bellator 299 a.k.a. Bellator Dublin, which is headlined by the Middleweight Championship fight between reigning champ Johnny Eblen and challenger Fabian Edwards. It’s the headliner bout which we’ll analyze in this Bellator 299 preview.
How to Watch
- When: Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 4:00 p.m ET
- Where: 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
- How to Watch: Showtime
Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Johnny Eblen | |
| Fabian Edwards |
Fight Preview
Johnny Eblen is still without a single loss in his professional MMA career. The American is 13-0 with 9 wins in Bellator MMA. Two of those were championship bouts. First, he won the title by beating Gegard Mousasi by unanimous decision. He won by the same method in his first title defense, against Anatoly Tokov.
Since joining this promotion, most of his wins happened by decision, but he also has five KO/TKO wins in his fight portfolio. He has just one submission win, but this doesn’t mean he’s not great on the floor. On the contrary, Eblen is one of the best wrestlers in the middleweight division, who also has a fine set of grappling skills.
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But so does his next opponent. The younger brother of the UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards, Fabian is a BJJ black belt, with great striking skills and an engine that never runs out of gas. He’s 12-2 overall, with both of his losses happening by decision.
Eblen vs. Edwards Prediction
Our prediction for the Bellator Dublin main event is that this is going to be a much closer contest than what Eblen vs. Edwards odds might suggest. Sure, the champ is the favorite, but we think he’s not going to have an easy job on September 24. We expect this to be a 25-minute bout, after which the judges should score in Eblen’s favor.
Free Pick:
