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John Martin just threw more gasoline on Johnny Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis 2, and this rivalry already had enough smoke after Eblen smashed Impa Kasanganay at PFL Austin. Speaking in a PFL video after PFL Tampa, the promotion’s CEO said the postponed middleweight title rematch is not just a nice piece of scheduling. He called it the biggest fight the company has. That is a heavy swing from the boss, especially with PFL coming off a Tampa card built around Cris Cyborg grinding out a title win over Ketlen Vieira and a pile of summer-series fallout. Martin was asked for his favorite moment from the run, and he went straight back to the Eblen-van Steenis mess that almost turned the cage into a bonus fight. Watch Martin talk through the PFL Tampa aftermath below: PFL CEO John Martin recaps the incredible night in Tampa 🔥 What a way to close out the PFL Summer Series!#PFLTampa presented by @visitspc | LIVE NOW on ESPN pic.twitter.com/MsnMX466CL — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 23, 2026 John Martin Still Wants The Eblen-Van Steenis Heat Martin said he was “so disappointed” when Costello van Steenis was injured and could not face Johnny Eblen for the middleweight championship. PFL moved ahead with an interim title fight, Eblen won, and then van Steenis climbed into the cage afterward. That is when the fun nearly got expensive for the executive standing nearby. “There was the skirmish in the cage afterwards when Costello unexpectedly climbed in and I got a little nervous because Johnny looked at me and he goes, ‘I’m going after him right now,’ and I was like, ‘Alright, please, because I’m the one that’s going to end up getting hurt in this.'” Martin said both fighters behaved, but he did not pretend the beef was fake. The rematch was originally the cleanest middleweight story PFL had, then the injury pushed the whole thing sideways and made Eblen go through Kasanganay instead. That detour may have made the second meeting nastier. “That fight, when that happens, that is going to be the biggest fight in the history of the PFL. So I cannot wait. Those guys do not like each other. They fought once before. Costello won with 10 seconds left in the fifth round. That next one is going to be a banger. I cannot wait.” The first Eblen-van Steenis fight is still the kind of loss that sticks to a fighter’s brain at 3 a.m. Eblen was undefeated, had Bellator gold on his background, and was seconds from surviving five rounds before van Steenis snatched the rear-naked choke and put him away late in round five. That gave van Steenis the title and handed Eblen the first loss of his pro MMA career. Eblen answered by beating Kasanganay for interim gold, but the bigger business is still sitting there. PFL has been trying to build recognizable rivalries in a market where the UFC eats most of the oxygen, and bad blood with an actual title hook is not something a promoter throws in the trash. The company also had already watched van Steenis defend his belt when he finished Fabian Edwards at PFL Madrid, which kept the rematch from feeling like a one-night accident. Martin calling Eblen vs. van Steenis 2 the biggest fight in PFL history is promoter talk, sure. It is also exactly the kind of promoter talk that tells everyone where the middleweight division is headed once van Steenis is healthy. Eblen wants the belt back. Van Steenis owns the finish. PFL has the grudge match it needs, and nobody involved sounds interested in pretending this is just another date on the calendar.