Everything was going great for Costello van Steenis at the tail end of 2020. He’d won seven of eight fights, was coming off his first Bellator main event win over Fabian Edwards, and seemed in position to make a run at the middleweight title.
Just when van Steenis (14-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) was hitting the point at which the opportunities he’d worked a lifetime for were just around the corner, it all fell apart and he wasn’t seen again for 25 months.
“I had loads of injuries,” van Steenis told MMA Junkie. “I had two stomach hernias, a groin tear, and had COVID really bad. It really affected me. It took me five, six months to recover from that. When I came back, I started training too hard and tore my ACL. It was hectic.
“I definitely had doubts (about my future) because I was having so much bad luck. It wasn’t small injuries that I could push through. … That really messed up my head. Everything was like a dark hole for me.”
Van Steenis, 30, is the first to admit life got pretty low for him. However, a relationship with a new trainer allowed him to rebuild physically and mentally.
At long last, van Steenis made his return to competition this past month at Bellator 287 in Italy. “The Spaniard” picked up right where he left off and submitted Kamil Oniszczuk with a D’Arce choke in the second round of their bout.
Although it wasn’t the highest ranked opponent, van Steenis said the fight allowed him to get back in groove, and in his opinion shows he belongs at the upper tier of Bellator’s 185-pound division.
“I think I should be in the top three, definitely,” van Steenis said. “I’ve been out for two years, so I can’t be too picky. But put me wherever and I’ll start beating people and putting fear in the middleweight division.
“There’s loads of new fighters. The whole middleweight division is different. The whole lineup is different (than before my injuries). I’m excited to prove myself that I should be in the top three, and I’ll keep proving myself.”
Van Steenis said he’s targeting a return at Bellator’s event in Dublin on Feb. 24. He would like the highest ranked opponent available, and would even be ready to jump into a title bout with champ Johnny Eblen if possible.
“If I could pick, I would fight Eblen right away,” van Steenis said. “But I don’t think it’s up to me to pick my own fight. When Bellator tells me I’m ready to fight him, I will fight him.”
