Things nearly went south for Johnny Eblen.
This Saturday, Eblen faces Impa Kasanganay in the co-main event of the PFL vs. Bellator event that takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But before his big champ vs. champ showdown, Eblen nearly got into a separate fight, this time with a prankster in his local Home Depot.
Eblen’s manager Brian Butler posted a video Monday showing Eblen getting pranked by social media creator ImReddttv. Redd previously pranked Jamahal Hill to nearly disastrous results, and almost had the same thing happen to him this time when he approached Eblen while he and a female companion are shopping, and began to hit on the woman while also insulting Eblen.
“You look skinny,” Redd said. “Like a little man.”
“I am a little man,” Eblen replied.
“You look like it. I’ll try you right now,” said Redd, causing Eblen to laugh.
To Eblen’s credit, he quickly noticed that another individual is filming the incident and moves away, but ultimately gets roped back in as Redd renews his efforts.
“What’s funny, little man?” Redd continued as Eblen walked away. “Sweetheart, you need to be with a real big man like me. That’s your girl?”
“Say something disrespectful and I’ll f*** you up!” Eblen replied before walking away.
Redd tried to renew his efforts but as Eblen walked off, he recognized the game was up and revealed the entire thing was a prank set up by Eblen’s manager. Ultimately, Eblen was a good sport about it, but noted on Instagram afterward that he was close to getting violent with Redd, also prompting the head of Eblen’s gym, American Top Team, to suggest these pranks stay stateside.
Eblen is 14-0 in his MMA career and currently the No. 5 ranked middleweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
