“I’m just a step above him” - Bellator champ explains superiority over rival UFC champ Dricus du Plessis

It appears a Bellator champion is confident that he is a far superior fighter compared to Dricus du Plessis and explained why.

Johnny Eblen has been regarded by many as one of the top fighters competing outside the UFC for quite some time. The unbeaten Bellator middleweight champion has been on an impressive run in the promotion and will look to continue that now that he is competing under the PFL banner.

During his appearance on The MMA Hour, 'The Human Cheat Code', he shared his thoughts on how he compares to du Plessis and noted that he has better fundamentals than the reigning UFC middleweight champion.

He mentioned that he believes he matches up well with 'Stillknocks' and is the more technically sound fighter. He said:

"I'm a college wrestler, but I can strike and I can grapple. I have the full package. I feel like he does too, but I'm just a step above him and I'm faster for sure. He might be a big, strong dude, but I'm faster and I have better cardio and I'm better technically than him in every facet." [19:35 - 19:53]

It will be interesting to see whether du Plessis responds to Eblen or decides to ignore him because the only way fans could get the answer as to who the better fighter is would be if the Bellator middleweight champion joined the UFC.

Check out the full interview below:

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Bellator middleweight champ Johnny Eblen opens up about training with Sean Strickland

Johnny Eblen recently opened up about his experience training with former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

During the aforementioned appearance, the reigning Bellator middleweight champion described what Strickland is like to spar with. He mentioned that he enjoys the experience because it pushes him to improve and become a better fighter. He said:

"It's always good training [with Sean Strickland]...We lock ourselves in the cage and we just get after it, man. And every time we get together, dude, it's always good rounds. I always feel like I get better after training with him." [14:08 - 14:38]