American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez hasn’t gotten to see Johnny Eblen showcase his expertise in individual, however based mostly on what he’s heard from different coaches he thinks the Bellator champion could possibly be within the dialog for one of the best middleweight in MMA.
Nearly no fan will attempt to argue that another promotion has an general roster that may rival the UFC, however at the very least so far as champions go Bellator does have just a few of one of the best fighters on the planet. One of many promotion’s brightest stars is Eblen, who’s at the moment unbeaten and simply defended his middleweight title for a second time at Bellator 299.
“Stress” is rapidly making a reputation for himself with each win he provides to his report, and Mendez lately detailed how extremely a few of his friends have spoken concerning the 31-year-old.
“Everyone that’s anyone has talked extremely about him,” Mendez stated on his YouTube channel. “And I’ve but to see anyone say completely different than what I’ve heard from prime coaches that discuss him and prime fighters that discuss him. However I haven’t personally seen him myself, I’ve seemed ahead to the time I get to observe him as a result of I wanna see that form of expertise and I like watching them carry out and the way they carry out.”
Javier Mendez Considers How Johnny Eblen Compares To Different Middleweights
Eblen has solely actually jumped onto the radar of most MMA followers since he claimed Bellator’s middleweight belt, however Mendez suggests he could possibly be proficient sufficient to hold with any of the opposite prime 185-pound fighters throughout the game.
(Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA)
“He’s undoubtedly one of many unknown guys that must be recognized extra so than what he’s now, in my view. Based mostly on the discuss I hear about him, he’s the true deal. And he might very properly, simply be primary over any middleweight from what lots of guys are saying. However that we’ll by no means know till you struggle the opposite leagues…He’s the man that everyone talks about on the underground roughly, the folks within the know discuss him.”
Mendez’s suggestion about how Eblen stacks up in opposition to one of the best middleweights in promotions aside from Bellator is attention-grabbing to think about given how the UFC’s middleweight division simply skilled a sizeable shakeup. Israel Adesanya was closely favored to defend his title at UFC 293 in Australia earlier than being upset by Sean Strickland, and now there are a number of fighters all vying for a shot on the newly-crowned champion.
There’s an opportunity followers would possibly get to see Eblen take a look at himself within the UFC sooner or later provided that Bellator’s long-term future nonetheless appears to be up within the air, however for now the 31-year-old can take a while to take pleasure in his spectacular third-round stoppage in opposition to Edwards.
Learn Additionally: Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Coach Explains What Made Sean Strickland Completely different To Israel Adesanya’s Earlier Opponents
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