Johnny Eblen blasts Costello van Steenis withdrawal before PFL Austin clash

Johnny Eblen has questioned the severity of Costello van Steenis's injury that forced the PFL champion to withdraw from their scheduled main event at PFL Austin on July 18. Eblen and van Steenis were set to clash at Moody Center, with Eblen seeking redemption after losing to van Steenis at PFL Africa 1 in July 2025. Instead of facing his former rival, Eblen will now compete against Impa Kasanganay for the interim middleweight title. Eblen believes van Steenis could have made the fight and suggested the withdrawal was motivated by a desire for extra training time rather than injury severity. "I want to stay active, and he didn't want to fight [in] July… He wanted to push it to later so, it is what it is," Eblen told MMAJunkie. "He's being a bitch. I guess he got hurt, but from what I heard, the dude looked at his Instagram... and I guess he's been training." The former PFL champion argued that most fighters compete while injured and cited his training partner Sean Strickland as an example, noting Strickland fought Khamzat Chimaev with a separated shoulder the week of the bout. "Guys aren't 100 percent healthy when they show up in the ring," Eblen concluded.