PFL middleweight champion Johnny Eblen couldn’t have a better role model than Dustin Poirier.

Eblen, 33, headlines PFL Africa on Saturday night before Poirier retires from MMA through a BMF title bout with Max Holloway at UFC 318.

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Both men train together at renowned MMA gym American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Eblen is undefeated in the sport, having won 16 successive bouts since his professional debut in July 2017.

Poirier, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, and has shared the octagon with iconic names like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Ahead of his headliner at UFC 318, ‘The Diamond’ shared a glowing review of Eblen, calling his teammate ‘a real student of the game,’ while emphasising how he has been getting better every week.

Seeing how Poirier trains and conducts himself every day is a priceless source of motivation for Eblen, but those kinds of words go a long way.

“[Poirier’s] a teammate, but more so a friend,” Eblen told talkSPORT.com exclusively from Cape Town, South Africa.

“I really look up to him. He’s such a great dude. He’s a good person.

“I like the way he lives his life. I like the way he carries himself. I like the way he just goes about his business, and it means a lot for him to say something like that.

“He’s one of those guys who is in the gym, just like me, trying to get better every day, and he likes to scrap. I like to scrap. We’re both dogs.

“It means a lot that he would say something like that. Same to him, bro. He’s a legend. He’s one of the best to ever do it, and he’s the most exciting fighter to watch.’

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PFL Africa marks the first time the promotion has appeared on the continent, with a huge card spearheaded by Francis Ngannou ready for the night.

Ngannou was signed by the PFL following his UFC departure in 2022, becoming their heavyweight champion in October 2024 by flattening Renan Ferreira.

The card also features British female star Dakota Ditcheva, who takes on Sumiko Inaba in a co-main event bout.

This comes before Eblen faces Dutch fighter Costello Van Stennis in the main event with middleweight gold on the line.

Eblen continued by promising violence in the headline act before his teammate, Poirier, leaves the sport once and for all.

“I like to pick [Poirier’s] brain,” he added.

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“He doesn’t take the fight game too seriously. He does it because he loves it, and he likes to scrap.

“I’m the same, and when you have like-minded people in the same room, you guys tend to gravitate towards each other and ping off each other’s ideas.

“We’ve trained a lot and I’ve learnt a lot from him… it was an honour to be a part of some of his camps in the past.

“I wish I could be there for his last dance, but I’m going to put on a violent show before he does, and it’s going to be legendary.”

Eblen was originally scheduled to fight in Saudi Arabia, meaning he would be able to corner Poirier for his final fight.

The bout was meant to come a couple of weeks before UFC 318, but when they moved it, ‘Pressure’ thought ‘oh s***.’

However, showing the man he is, Eblen told Poirier’s teams that although he was desperate to be there for The Diamond’s farewell, he didn’t want to take away from his last fight.

“We’ve risen each other up,” Eblen concluded.

“F****** telling each other, ‘Hey bro, you look great, looking good. Can’t wait to get our wins on July 19th and business as usual.’

“I think Dustin will go out on a shield, but Max is going to come up short.

“It would be really beautiful if Dustin could knock him out, because then he would’ve knocked him out, submitted him, and beaten him by decision — that would be legendary.”

Holloway vs Poirier 3 is the longest stretch between three fights in the promotion’s history.

Poirier welcomed Holloway to the UFC in 2012 by submitting him in round one, and scored a unanimous decision win over ‘Blessed’ seven years later at UFC 236.

UFC 318 is live on TNT Sports on Saturday night after Eblen faces van Steenis at PFL Africa live on DAZN.