Bellator 290: Johnny Eblen successfully defends title against Anatoly Tokov

Bellator 290: Johnny Eblen defeated Anatoly Tokov.

Johnny Eblen defeated Anatoly Tokov via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46), Round 2 – 3:20 at Bellator 290 on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, live from Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA.

“That’s just how I fight John (McCarthy), I get stronger as I fight. I’m the real king of cardio. Fuck Colby Covington. It looks like (Gegard) Mousasi and (Fabian) Edwards are fighting in Paris. I’ll fight the winner,” said Eblen.

Eblen was making his first middleweight championship since stunning Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282. Tokov won seven straight fights to earn his title fight. The two wasted little time trading punches in the middle of the cage. Eblen landed a combination that forced Tokov to retreat momentarily. Tokov landed a strong counter right hand that briefly stunned Eblen. Tokov continued to land his jab as Eblen threw his kicks. From the exit of a clinch, Eblen landed a sharp elbow in the closing seconds of the opening round.

Eblen landed another leg kick to open the second round. Tokov came right back with a combination. Tokov successfully used his jab to land continually. Eblen’s face and body were starting to show the damage. Eblen landed a pair of right hands. Tokov staggered Eblen with a shot but Eblen was able to recover. Eblen landed his own shot that dropped Tokov, who did pop up immediately. Eblen took Tokov down and landed several knees and a big elbow once Tokov made his way up.

The two fighters opened the third exchanging kicks and punches. Eblen changed levels and took Tokov down again. Tokov made his way up to his feet but in doing so, he allowed Eblen to land powerful body punches. Eblen picked Tokov up and took him down again. Tokov was able to get back up and defended a pair of takedown attempts. Eblen landed a big shot in the final minute of the round.

Eblen took Tokov down again. Tokov struggled to get back up to his feet with Eblen returning him to the ground as he attempted to get up. On the break, both fighters landed but Eblen changed levels and landed another takedown.

Tokov contained to have no answer for Eblen’s grappling. Eblen picked Tokov and dropped him to the canvas on three straight occasions. Every time Tokov would make his way back up to his feet, Eblen would slam him back down to the ground with authority. Following a suplex from Eblen, Tokov found new life. Tokov landed a big shot and went for a choke as Eblen went for another takedown. The clock ran out in the fifth round as Tokov tried for the submission.

With his victory, Eblen improved to 9-0 since joining Bellator and 13-0 in his career. Tokov dropped to 31-3.

Bellator 290: Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianeko took place on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, live from the Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.