Johnny Eblen reached his ultimate goal of becoming a champion, but says it’s just the start.
Eblen (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) remained unbeaten when he scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Gegard Mousasi to capture the middleweight title at Bellator 282.
He will look to notch his first title defense Feb. 4 when he meets Anatoly Tokov (31-3 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in the Bellator 290 co-main event at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., just outside Los Angeles. Coming off a win over a notable name like Mousasi, Eblen has plenty of momentum, but won’t let his focus waver.
“I’m going to continue to get better and continue to beat the sh*t out of guys,” Eblen told MMA Junkie Radio. “I just want to be the GOAT. I want to be the best in the world. So, I can’t let this whole being a champion thing blow up my head too big.”
The American Top Team fighter and former NCAA Division-I wrestler will have an all-star corner for his upcoming fight. Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal, Mike Brown, Thiago Alves and former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier will be there to assist.
“There’s definitely a target on my back,” Eblen said. “And as a I keep winning, the target is going to get bigger and bigger. More people are going to want to take me out, but I embrace it. That’s a matter of me getting so good to where no matter who wants to try to take me out, I’m going to take you out – and that’s my mentality.”
