A longtime training partner of Gegard Mousasi, van Steenis built his name in Bellator where he went 7-2 prior to PFL's merger. A 48-second head kick in his PFL debut earned him a crack at Eblen, who had never lost prior to Saturday's bout.

Van Steenis became the new PFL middleweight champion when he locked in a rear-naked choke on Johnny Eblen and earned the submission with just nine seconds left in the five-round bout. The loss was the first in 17 bouts for Eblen.

Costello van Steenis submitted Johnny Eblen in the final seconds of their main-event bout Saturday to capture the PFL championship.