Two top fighters at middleweight face off for the Bellator middleweight title when Johnny Eblen travels to Dublin to defend his belt against Brit Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299 on September 23.
Bellator 299 takes place at the 3Arena, a regular home to Bellator, and will air on Showtime in the U.S. It is also available to stream on Fubo, which includes a free trial.
A two-time Academic All-MAC Team member in wrestling, Eblen turned pro in 2017. He joined Bellator in 2019 and is currently 9-0 with the promotion. "The Human Cheat Code" beat Gegard Mousasi in March 2022 to become the Bellator middleweight champion and is coming off a successful defense over Anatoly Tokov in February. Eblen is ready to take on the younger brother of Leon Edwards, the current UFC welterweight champion.
“He’s a great fighter, but I think I am better,” Eblen said. “He has a few tricks and tries to set you up for stuff, but I’m too slick, and I’m going to break his face on Saturday night. I’m not worried if it’s a standup match-up. I stood up with Sean Strickland, and he’s one of the best in the world. It does not worry me if it’s a standup match-up.”
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Both Edwards brothers lived in Jamaica before decamping to England. The 30-year-old Fabian turned pro in 2017 with Bellator, leaving behind a janitorial job. He then competed for BAMMA before signing with Bellator in 2019. Edwards is 7-2 with the promotion and is on a three-fight win streak. The English fighter last fought in May, beating Mousasi via a unanimous decision in a middleweight title eliminator.
“When you’ve never lost before, you think you never will, and that’ll be his downfall when I go in there and the shots are flying at him, he’s going to realize,” Edwards said. “I KO people. Johnny doesn’t curly-toe people like I do. He likes to box and hang off people. I don’t do that.
Also on the card will be knockout artist Aaron Pico, as well as Mads Burnell, and Peter Queally.
Here's all you need to know about Bellator 299, from the time, channel, odds, card, and more.
When is Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards?
In the U.S., Bellator 299 starts with the prelims at 11 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time). The main card is at 4 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local time). Eblen and Edwards should make their way to the cage around 7:30 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. local time), depending on how long the undercard fights last.
| Region | Date | Prelims Start Time | Main Card Start Time | Main Event Ring Walks (approx.) |
| USA and Canada (ET) | Sat. September 23 | 11 a.m. ET | 4 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| USA and Canada (PT) | Sat. September 23 | 8 a.m. PT | 1 p.m. PT | 4:30 p.m. PT |
| UK and Ireland | Sat. September 23 | 4 p.m. BST | 9 p.m. BST | 12:30 a.m. BST |
| Australia | Sun. September 24 | 1 a.m. AEST | 6 a.m. AEST | 9:30 a.m. AEST |
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How to watch Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards
| Region | TV channel | Live streaming |
| USA | Showtime | YouTube, Fubo |
| Canada | Bellator.com | |
| UK and Ireland | BBC iPlayer, Virgin Media | |
| Australia | 10 Play |
In the U.S., you can watch Bellator 299 on Showtime, with the prelims on Bellator's YouTube channel. It is also available to stream on Fubo, which includes a free trial.
In the U.K., the event will be available on BBC iPlayer. In Australia, you can watch on 10 Play.
YouTube will no longer host Bellator events in Canada. To watch the show, fight fans must tune into Bellator.com. A 7-day pass to watch Bellator MMA events (and full card replay) will cost $19.50 CAD.
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Where is Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards?
Bellator 299 is in the 3Arena in Dublin. The arena can hold up to 13,000 people.
Betting odds for Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards
Per Bet MGM, Johnny Eblen is the -600 favorite, while Fabian Edwards is the +425 underdog.
Johnny Eblen record, bio
- Nationality: American
- Born: December 13, 1991
- Height: 6-1
- Reach: 74 inches
- Total fights: 13
- Record: 13-0 with five wins via knockout
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Fabian Edwards record, bio
- Nationality: English
- Born: March 24, 1993
- Height: 6-1
- Reach: 79.5 inches
- Total fights: 14
- Record: 12-2 with four wins via knockout
Bellator 299 fight card
Main card
- Johnny Eblen (c) vs. Fabian Edwards for the Bellator middleweight title
- Aaron Pico vs. Pedro Carvalho; Featherweights
- Sinead Kavanagh vs. Sara Collins; Featherweights
- Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel; Featherweights
- Levan Chokheli vs. Sabah Homasi; Welterweights
Prelims
- Peter Queally vs. Daniele Miceli; Lightweights
- Mansour Barnaoui vs. Jay-Jay Wilson; Lightweights
- Gregory Babene vs. Charlie Ward; Middleweights
- Ciarán Clarke vs. Przemysław Gorny; Catchweights
- Luca Poclit vs. Roman Faraldo; Welterweights
- Khasan Magomedsharipov vs. Piotr Niedzielski; Featherweights
- Darragh Kelly vs. Jelle Zeegers; Featherweights
- Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues; Featherweights
- Davy Gallon vs. Attila Korkmaz; Lightweights
- Asael Adjoudj vs. Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan; Featherweights
- Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Josh O'Connor; Featherweights
- Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius; Light Heavyweights
- Nicolo Solli vs. Romain Debienne; Welterweights
- Sergey Bilostenniy vs. Kasim Aras; Heavyweights
- Mark Ewen vs. Noah Gugnon; Lightweights
- Chiara Penco vs. Mackenzie Stiller; Strawweights