How far would you go to chase a dream? What if you had 15 seconds left in a fight, and the only way to reach that dream was by breaking someone’s will or worse, their neck? That’s the mindset Costello van Steenis carried into the final seconds of his title fight at PFL Cape Town against the reigning champion, Johnny Eblen.
The Dutch middleweight wasn’t just fighting for gold. He was fighting for the moment he’d been visualizing his whole life. And when it came down to the wire, he left nothing behind.
As such, in his recent appearance on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’, the newly crowned champion was asked what was going through his mind during the choke. His answer?
van Steenis responded by confessing, “Yeah, at that very moment I was planning on, if this guy’s not gonna tap, I’m gonna try and break his neck. Really, I was using my full potential strength to actually hurt him really bad because I was saying the whole week, I’m not gonna lose. The whole week, the whole training camp, I’m not gonna lose, I can’t lose. I’ve been dedicating my whole life for this moment. There’s no chance I’m losing this fight.”
Let’s pause here for a second. For nearly four rounds, Johnny Eblen looked like the fighter everyone expected him to be. The undefeated PFL champ was suffocating in top control, constantly driving van Steenis to the mat, smothering him against the fence, and peppering him with elbows and punches. Eblen had the edge in almost every exchange.
By the time round four rolled in, van Steenis finally landed meaningful offense, calf kicks, combinations, pressure, and even forced the ref to warn Eblen for stalling. Still, the champ stayed composed, and most thought he’d done enough to cruise to a decision. But round five changed everything.
“At that very moment I was planning on, if this guy’s not gonna tap, I’m gonna try and break his neck.
I was using my full potential strength to actually hurt him really bad because the whole week I was saying, I’m not going to lose.”@_VanSteenis on his last second submission… pic.twitter.com/mYnux1DXlU
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 21, 2025
With just half a round left, van Steenis reversed position and somehow ended up on Eblen’s back. The crowd roared. The clock ticked. Van Steenis dug his arm under Eblen’s chin. Then he squeezed.
When Ariel Helwani asked him if he knew at that moment how little time was left on the clock, the Dutch fighter stated, “No, not at all. Not at that moment. I heard my trainers screaming all different languages in Spanish and in Dutch and in English saying, there’s only 15 seconds left. So I was like, oh, 15 seconds, I need to squeeze. It’s now all or nothing. So that’s what I just did. I just squeezed it like a pimple, as hard as possible.”
And just like that, Johnny Eblen went out, and Costello van Steenis’s dream of holding the PFL title came true! What’s even more remarkable is the fact that Eblen had reportedly walked in as a 5-to-1 favorite.
He hadn’t lost since turning pro. He was considered one of the best middleweights outside the UFC. But Costello van Steenis changed all of that with one brutal squeeze. And now, he’s come out with a bold response to the former-champion’s demands for an immediate rematch!
Costello van Steenis throws subtle shade at Dustin Poirier as he turns down PFL rematch with Johnny Eblen
A comeback like that can shake up a division. But what happens after the shock settles? Well, one thing’s for certain: Costello Van Steenis isn’t too keen on running it back with Johnny Eblen, yet.
Just days after the dramatic finish at PFL Cape Town, Eblen broke his silence with a bold statement on X, writing, “I want a rematch. ASAP”
It didn’t take long for the new champ to respond. During his interview with Ariel Helwani, van Steenis shut down the idea, at least for now. He shared, “We’ll definitely fight sooner or later, but I think they want me to fight the winner of the tournament, of [Fabian] Edwards and [Dalton Rosta] I’ve got the target on my back…I think somebody else is in line now.”
With the belt around his waist, van Steenis believes he has the right to move forward. And while he’s open to whatever the PFL decides, he isn’t convinced Eblen deserves to jump the queue. But it’s not from a lack of confidence. Far from it, he believes that, “All these legends like Dustin Poirier talking so good about this guy ‘One of the best middleweight fighters in the world outside of the UFC’…but now I know his energy, his gas tank, and he’s human just like we all are.”
For now, the champ has made his stance clear. If Johnny Eblen wants his rematch, he might have to earn it the hard way. Whatever comes next, one thing’s certain: when the pressure’s on and the clock’s ticking, Costello van Steenis won’t hesitate to squeeze until he turns dreams to reality!
The post This PFL Fighter Was Willing to Break Opponent’s Neck to Fulfill Title Dream in Final 15 Seconds appeared first on EssentiallySports.
