Bryan Battle: Me with PFL title belt 'a match made in heaven'
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Bryan Battle is looking to bring some star power into the PFL.
Battle (12-2) makes his promotional debut against former middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (16-1) in Saturday's PFL Pittsburgh (ESPN+) main event at UPMC Events Center.
Known to rile up a crowd in his post-fight interviews, Battle's popularity increased during his UFC tenure, which saw him exit with a five-fight unbeaten streak. If he can get past Eblen, he can't imagine PFL wouldn't insert him in the title picture.
"I've been promised nothing, but what makes sense? We're talking about good business, me fighting for the title – even if I skipped fighting Eblen and I fought for the title off the rip, that's good business," Battle told MMA Junkie. "I whoop Eblen, that's a no-brainer.
"You want 'The Butcher' holding your belt. It's mutually beneficial. It boosts me up, I boost it up. Me with the belt is a match made in heaven. So I think I whoop Eblen, that's a no-brainer, but that's out of my hands. I don't make those choices."
Battle is aware of the challenge that Eblen brings. Eblen lost his PFL middleweight title to Costello van Steenis by last-minute submission at PFL Africa in a fight he was dominating. Prior to that, he was undefeated as a professional.
"Johnny Eblen has been on my radar for a very long time," Battle said. "I've been keeping up with him since the Bellator days. How do I rate him skill wise? He's a two-promotion world champion: Bellator middleweight champion, PFL middleweight champ, the names of the dudes he's beaten – Gegard Mousasi, Fabian Edwards, Impa (Kasanganay), all those dudes.
"He has an outstanding resume, so that doesn't do nothing but pump me up, get me fired up. I feel like he's probably the best – Randy (Brown) is really good, but Eblen is right up there with the best dudes I've ever fought."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Bryan Battle sees PFL title reign as mutually good for business