John McCarthy
Former MMA referee on BBC iPlayer

Eblen is a special fighter. His keys to victory is pressure and crush the range. Wrestle, wrestle, wrestle and make him pay on the gronund.

A former collegiate wrestler, middleweight champion Johnny Eblen can cause some serious damage if he gets his arms around you.

Eblen completed a beautiful German suplex when he made the first defence of his belt against Anatoly Tokov.

And now for the champion Johnny Eblen.

It's a proper American classic! 'Take me home country roads' by John Denver.

A real crowd-pleaser.

John McCarthy
Former MMA referee on BBC iPlayer

Edwards needs to keep his back off of the cage. Attack the body early and often. He's got a beautiful body attack, especially with the kick.

Here comes the challenger Fabian Edwards.

He looks very calm.

Not a song I've had on repeat but it's 'The Race' by Tay-K that Edwards has picked to get him in the zone.

He's wearing a t-shirt with Edwards written across the front in black, but the letters 'war' are highlighted in red... very nice bit of merchandise.

Middleweight champion Johnny Eblen and challenger Fabian Edwards had to be held apart after tensions flared during their face-off on Friday.

As the pair took to the stage, Edwards' team chanted "and the new", which saw Eblen's team respond with shouts of "and still".

Image source, Getty Images

Fabian Edwards has won his last three fights to secure tonight's middleweight title opportunity.

But it hasn't always been smooth sailing.

After starting his career with nine successive victories - five of those coming in Bellator - Edwards lost two in a row.

Costello van Steenis was the first man to beat Edwards, earning a split decision win in September 2020.

Edwards returned to the cage eight months later but was unable to get back on track when Austin Vanderford claimed a unanimous decision victory.

A stunning first round win against the legendary, albeit veteran, Lyoto Machida got Edwards back in the win column in 2022 and he's since gone on to record decision victories against Charlie Ward and Gegard Mousasi.

His biggest test to date awaits tonight in Dublin with undefeated middleweight champion Johnny Eblen standing in his way.

Eblen's nickname is the 'Human Cheat Code', but Edwards is treating the bout just like any other.

"I think a lot of people are trying to make him better than what he is, but I look at him as a normal human, and I see holes in his game," said Edwards.

"I've envisioned this fight - I see the second or third round, me stopping him. Or it being five rounds but a masterclass."

Paul Battison
BBC Sport at the 3Arena, Dublin

One of the biggest cheers of the night just went out as the announcer read out that Ireland had beaten South Africa 13-8 at the Rugby World Cup earlier tonight.

The remaining seats are starting to be filled now as fans filter in from the bar and toilets in preparation for the main event.

Fabian Edwards has four victories by knockout but his most emphatic came during his current winning streak.

'The Assassin' lived up to his nickname when he caught Lyoto Machida with a nasty elbow and then followed up with some ground and pound in London.

Edwards takes us through his finish at Bellator 281 in London.

Image source, Getty Images

Johnny Eblen makes the second defence of his middleweight belt in Dublin.

The American beat Gegard Mousasi by unanimous decision to claim the title in 2022 and defended against Anatoly Tokov in February.

With an undefeated record after 13 professional fights - winning five by knockout, one by submission and seven via decision - Eblen is confident he has the skills to add another win to that column.

"I'm too slick, too good, I put pressure on people and I break them," said Eblen.

"His brother's a great fighter, he's a great fighter, but I just think I'm better.

"[Edwards] is fast, athletic, has a good left hand, has a few tricks, tries to set you up with stuff but he isn't going to get me."

Image source, BBC Sport

Aston Villa fan Fabian Edwards stepped up to the plate this week to take on BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton in trying to predict this weekend's Premier League results.

There are still plenty of games to come, including Arsenal v Tottenham in the North London derby on Sunday, but after five games (rounds) today, Edwards leads 50-30.

That sounds like a resounding unanimous decision victory to me! A sign of things to come later?

Image source, BBC Sport

Edwards, maybe predictably, is going for a big Villa away win tomorrow.

Check out the Sutton v Edwards face-off you never knew you needed here.

Featherweight Aaron Pico on BBC iPlayer: “I’ve been wanting to fight the top guys and it’s been very difficult. I want to say thank to Pedro for accepting the fight.

"Irish fans, you guys have been nothing but great to me. Everybody always said this was the best place to fight and thank you.

“My jiu-jitsu is getting a lot better. I felt there was a lot of time left in the round and I wanted to soften him up a bit. I’m happy with it.

“I believe I am ready to be a world champion. Not just a world champion, but I want to defend my world title. I’m ready. I’ve been in this organisation since I was a young boy and now I’m a man, got a beard now.”

Aaron Pico gets the win in round round.

He drops Pedro Carvalho with an uppercut and then does some nasty work inside the guard.

After taking a couple of elbows to the head, Carvalho turns his face to the canvas and is caught by a barrage of punches.

Massive win for Pico.

Image source, Getty Images

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards assumes the role of host as he quizzes brother Fabian about tonight's opponent Johnny Eblen.

It's co-main event time.

Number three ranked featherweight Aaron Pico is up against number five ranked Pedro Carvalho.

Carvalho hails from Portugal but he trains in Ireland. He'll have the lion's share of the support in the 3Arena tonight.

We could be looking at a title fight next time out for the winner.

Plenty on the line!

Bellator women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg praises Sara Collins after her split decision win over Sinead Kavanagh: "Sara Collins with the biggest win of her career."

Image source, Getty Images

You don't have to dig too deep to find out where Fabian Edwards gets his drive from.

The 30-year-old often attributes his best qualities to his mum.

Edwards and brother Leon were brought up by their mother after their father was killed in a shooting in London, shortly after they moved to England from Jamaica.

"She's in a foreign country, my dad passed after a year or two of being in this foreign country, and she had two kids, no education, and she just had to get on with it," said Edwards.

"Through her doing that and being tough and having to make things happen, I just learned from that. She instilled that head down, work and you'll get to where you want to type of mentality in both of us.

"My mum is a strong woman so to have someone like that, who's been through life and a lot of hardship, it means a lot to have that around."

Sara Collins moves to 5-0.

That's a disappointing result for Sinead Kavanagh, she didn't really get going.

Kavanagh was hoping to put herself in line for a title shot next time out but it's back to the drawing board for the Dubliner.

Bellator featherweight women's world champion Cris Cyborg has been tweeting during Sinead Kavanagh v Sara Collins:

"One and two punches. Kavanagh needs to put together longer punching combinations and stay in range instead of pulling out."

Image source, Getty Images