PFL Rankings Update: Eblen Wins Interim Title, Middleweight Division Resets
Johnny Eblen ended Saturday at PFL Austin as the interim PFL Middleweight World Champion. He stopped Impa Kasanganay in the third round by TKO at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas — the second time these two have met and the second time Eblen has walked away with the win. The first meeting was a split decision at PFL vs. Bellator in February 2024. This one was cleaner.
Eblen spent the early rounds pressuring Kasanganay and dictating the pace. In the third, he found openings on the ground and finished with ground-and-pound. The TKO stoppage makes Eblen the interim champion in a division where Costello van Steenis holds the undisputed title.
This result drives the biggest portion of Tuesday's PFL rankings update.
Biggest Movers
| Fighter | Division | Old Rank | New Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Eblen | Middleweight | NR | 1 | New |
| Alexandr Shabliy | Lightweight | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Alfie Davis | Lightweight | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| Sergio Pettis | Bantamweight | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Mitchell McKee | Bantamweight | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Jesus Pinedo | Featherweight | NR | 3 | New |
| Asael Adjoudj | Featherweight | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| Rob Wilkinson | Light Heavyweight | 6 | 5 | +1 |
Middleweight: Division Rebuilt After Austin
The PFL middleweight rankings have been restructured around Saturday's result. Eblen enters at number one as interim champion. Fabian Edwards enters at two. Kasanganay, despite losing in the main event, enters the rankings at three — a placement that accounts for his record and the quality of the fight he just competed in.
Van Steenis remains the undisputed champion. Below him, the division now has a defined hierarchy: Eblen holds the interim title, Edwards sits as the next challenger, and Kasanganay is positioned for another run at the top.
Several fighters in the middleweight table had no previous ranking entry, indicating the full table was refreshed alongside the Austin card results. This week's release is as much a re-establishment of the division as it is a standard update.
Featherweight: Pinedo Makes an Immediate Statement
Jesus Pinedo enters the featherweight rankings at number three after finishing Joey Ruquet by TKO in Austin. The stoppage was direct and earned him an immediate top-three placement in his first ranked appearance.
A.J. McKee moves from 3 to 2. Timur Khizriev holds at number one. Asael Adjoudj drops two spots — from 6 to 8. Adam Borics gains one position, moving from 8 to 7.
Bantamweight: McKee Moves to Number One
Mitchell McKee takes the top spot in bantamweight, moving from 2 to 1. Sergio Pettis drops from 1 to 3. McKee's unbeaten record and consistent activity have made this move an eventuality. He is now the primary name in any bantamweight title conversation. Renat Khavalov holds at 2 between the two movers.
Lightweight: Shabliy Rises to the Top
Alexandr Shabliy moves from 4 to 1 in lightweight. Alfie Davis drops from 1 to 4. The three-spot exchange between Shabliy and Davis is the starkest movement in a division that had not seen this kind of reconfiguration recently. Gadzhi Rabadanov moves from 1 to 2.
The lightweight picture around undisputed champion Usman Nurmagomedov now has Shabliy at the front of the contender line, though no title fight has been announced.
Other Divisions
Rob Wilkinson gains one position in light heavyweight — from 6 to 5. Simeon Powell drops from 5 to 6. Corey Anderson holds the light heavyweight championship and the top of the division is unchanged.
In women's flyweight, Jena Bishop rises from 5 to 4, Viviane Araujo from 8 to 7, and Sabrina de Sousa from 9 to 8. Dakota Ditcheva holds at number one.
The welterweight division sees minor adjustments. Omar El Dafrawy rises from 7 to 6. Florim Zendeli drops from 6 to 7. Ernesto Rodriguez climbs from 9 to 8 as Chris Mixan drops from 8 to 9.
The Austin event and Eblen's interim title win set the middleweight agenda for the remainder of the PFL Summer Series. The expectation now is a unification fight between Eblen and van Steenis when schedules align.