Exclusive: Johnny Eblen opens up on how he deals with pressure that comes with being a champion

Johnny Eblen recently opened up on the pressure that comes with winning a Bellator title and how he has dealt with it since his dominant unanimous decision win against Gegard Mousasi last April at Bellator 282.

During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Eblen revealed what his mindset has been like since becoming Bellator middleweight champion. He mentioned that he continues to train as if he isn't the champion and still has something to prove:

"Just train the same way that I always train and act like I'm not the champion, you know. To be the champ and to stay the champ, you have to train like a champ, so I'm still putting myself through the grinder and still pushing everyday like I don't have sh*t." {1:53 - 2:08}

'The Human Cheat Code' also added that not getting comfortable is the key to success for him. He mentioned that maintaining that mindset will allow him to continue evolving as a fighter and as a champion:

"I think that's a key thing I have to stick to is don't get too comfortable and continue to evolve, continue to get better. And train like your not the champ almost every single day, every single moment of the day, you know, cause it's not gonna get handed to me. It has to be earned." {2:09 - 2:24}

Johnny Eblen returns to the cage at Bellator 290 on February 4, where he will defend his middleweight championship against Anatoly Tokov in the promotion's debut event on CBS.

Check out the full interview:

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Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov title fight set for Bellator 290 co-main event

Johnny Eblen will defend his middleweight championship for the first time against Anatoly Tokov in the co-main event at Bellator 290. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Ryan Bader and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.

'The Human Cheat Code' won the middleweight championship at Bellator 282 following a dominant unanimous decision win against Gegard Mousasi. The win earned him a lot of praise as he outmatched Mousasi in every facet of the fight.

Tokov, on the other hand, will look to hand the middleweight champion his first career loss and extend his impressive winning streak to eight straight wins. It could be a special night for Team Fedor as Tokov and team leader Emelianenko are competing in title fights at the event and could join Vadim Nemkov as Bellator champions from the same team.