Bellator champ drops bombshell, says he would be “dead or in jail” if not for MMA career - “It was a bad time in my life”

Fighters often claim that MMA saved their life, but one particular Bellator champion took the narrative to another level.

In a jaw-dropping interview with MMA Junkie, middleweight champion Johnny Eblen spoke of his athletic journey while driving. Eblen claimed that finding himself through martial arts training saved him from being a 'miserable human being.'

Eblen said:

"I wasn't focused on the right things [in my life]. I was looking for short-term pleasures and it was a bad time in my life. It could've gone south... I could be miserable right now. I could be dead or in jail or just a miserable human. I'm glad I met Steve Mocco and I'm glad he got me into the gym."

Steve Mocco, whom Eblen cited in his interview as one of his motivators, is a former Dan Hodge Trophy winner and a two-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State. Eblen named Mocco, Mike Brown and Muhammad Lawal as the main reasons he began training at American Top Team.

Eblen continued to say that his growth as a person through his MMA career is substantially more important to him than the championship belt he owns.

Eblen said:

"I do this for fun, man. No one is relying on me winning this f****** fight except for myself to feed myself and make more money. Other than that, if I f****** lose, nothing changes in the world."

The upcoming fight Eblen referenced was his matchup with Impa Kasanganay on Feb. 24 as one of the seven fights on the pay-per-view main card of 'PFL vs. Bellator: Champs.'

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PFL vs. Bellator: Champs full fight card

As the first event following the PFL and Bellator merger, a handful of the promotion's respective champions will face off in a champion vs. champion fight card on pay-per-view.

The seven championship fights will be available on ESPN+ PPV, while the preliminary portion of the event will also feature Claressa Shields, Biaggio Ali Walsh, and Aaron Pico.

View the full PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card below:

Main card — 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. ET

Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira

Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay

Patricio Pitbull vs. Jesus Pinedo

Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson

Vadim Nemkov vs. Bruno Cappelozza

Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero

AJ McKee vs. Clay Collard

Prelims — 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT

Aaron Pico vs. Gabriel Braga

Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Emmanuel Palacio

Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis

Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondala Rao

Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira