PFL's Dalton Rosta aims to finish Fabian Edwards, then take out Costello Van Steenis
Rosta (11-1) has been on a roll in the new-look PFL tournament by submitting former champion Sadibou Sy and avenging the only loss of his career by winning a split decision over Aaron Jeffery. Those two victories have led him to the final, where he will meet former Bellator title challenger Fabian Edwards.
"I'm gonna go in here and smash this dude," Rosta told MMA Junkie at American Top Team. "It's not even gonna be close."
Although he can't pinpoint a reason why, Rosta says he just doesn't like Edwards (15-4). He aims to bring that energy into the cage with him when they battle at 2025 PFL World Tournament 10: Finals on Aug. 21 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
"At the end of the day, I hope this fight goes five rounds because he's talking a lot of sh*t about his cardio and he's gonna push me," Rosta said. "I can't wait to go out there, and after Round 3, if it makes it that far, he's gasping for air, he's looking for a way out, and I'm gonna take his heart from him.
"... He's smug. At the end of the day, it ain't personal. I don't like the dude, but I'm going in there to take his head off because that's what I'm here to do. I'm the best in the world, and I'm gonna prove it on Aug. 21."
Edwards reached the finals by stopping 2023 PFL light heavyweight season winner Impa Kasanganay and winning a unanimous decision over Josh Silveira. Rosta plans to halt Edwards' momentum and then take aim at Costello Van Steenis, who recently defeated Johny Eblen to win the PFL middleweight title.
"This round, I get a super confident – I don't know why – but a super confident Fabian Edwards, and I'm going to put his lights out," Rosta said. "Then, everybody's gonna believe me (that I'm the best in the world). If they don't believe me then, at the end of the year, whenever I fight Costello Van Steenis, and then I beat him, they will."
Despite Rosta and Eblen being teammates, the Pennsylvania native says it's not about getting one back for the team, but rather furthering his own career and proving himself as an elite fighter at middleweight.
"(Winning the title) interests me for my own endeavors," Rosta said. "At the end of the day, I'm not here to avenge anybody's loss. He's his own man. He's my teammate, I support him. But, at the end of the day, we're in the same weight class. We're chasing the same belt, and that belt's mine."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
11 hours ago
- USA Today
The Thrill and Agony: UFC on ABC 9 winner and loser reactions
A post shared by Mohammad Yahya محمد يحيى (@yahyamma) Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms. Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes. Following Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters. Check out some of those reactions. The defeated: Marcus Buchecha The defeated: Mohammad Yahya The defeated: Ibo Aslan The defeated: Amanda Ribas A post shared by AMANDA RIBAS (@amandaufcribas) A post shared by AMANDA RIBAS (@amandaufcribas) The defeated: Carlos Leal A post shared by Carlos Leal Miranda "The Lion" (@lealcarlos_) The defeated: Said Nurmagomedov The defeated: Nikita Krylov The defeated: Jose Ochoa A post shared by Jose Ochoa (@ The defeated: Marc-Andre Barriault A post shared by Striking Specialist (@danielmendes) A post shared by Marc-André Barriault (@powerbar_mma) The defeated: Marcus McGhee A post shared by randy steinke (@randysteinkemma) The defeated: Robert Whittaker A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie) The victorious: Martin Buday A post shared by Martin Buday (@badysbjj) The victorious: Steven Nguyen A post shared by Steven Nguyen (@stevenwinufc) The victorious: Tabatha Ricci A post shared by UFC Brasil (@ufc_brasil) A post shared by Saekson Academy (@saeksonmuaythai) The victorious: Davey Grant A post shared by Davey Grant (@daveygrantmma) The victorious: Muslim Salikhov A post shared by @muslim_salikhov The victorious: Bryce Mitchell The victorious: Bogdan Guskov A post shared by Bogdan Guskov (@bogdancarevich) A post shared by RED CORNER MMA (@ The victorious: Asu Almabayev A post shared by Асу Алмабаев (@asu_zulfikar57) The victorious: Shara Magomedov A post shared by Abu Dhabi Calendar (@abudhabievents) The victorious: Petr Yan A post shared by БК «Архангел Михаил» (@archangl_michael) A post shared by UFC Eurasia (@ufceurasia) The victorious: Reinier de Ridder A post shared by Reinier de Ridder (@deriddermma) A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie) A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie)
USA Today
13 hours ago
- USA Today
MMA Junkie Radio #3587: PFL's Jesus Pinedo joins, UFC on ABC 9 recap, more
Thursday's edition of MMA Junkie Radio with "Gorgeous" George and "Goze" is here. On Episode 3,587, the guys welcome in PFL's Jesus Pinedo, who takes on Movlid Khaybulaev in the featherweight finals of the PFL World Tournament on Friday, Aug. 1. The fellas also review UFC on ABC 9, discuss Ben Askren's return home, and more. Tune in!
USA Today
14 hours ago
- USA Today
UFC analyst says Robert Whittaker's title days over after UFC on ABC 9 loss
Din Thomas was impressed with the fighting spirit of Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 9, but can't overlook the negative career impact of the result against Reiner de Ridder. Thomas was on-site Saturday in Abu Dhabi serving as the broadcast analyst when former middleweight champion Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) suffered a split decision loss to de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at Etihad Arena. It was a competitive battle with both men getting hurt at moments and fighting hard until the end, and two of three judges had it for the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder. At could've been a deflating moment for Whittaker, who lost consecutive fights for the first time since 2014. Instead, he only said he was "butt hurt" about what happened then left the octagon with no further excuses. And Thomas likes what he saw in that moment. "Even when the result was read and he lost, he still seemed to be in a good place," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "I like this for Robert Whittaker because he's not sour, he didn't seem like he was complaining and he wasn't pointing fingers at anybody. He knew what he was in with that fight and he knew it was a tough fight, he knew it wasn't a dominant performance so neither fighter could complain either way. "I was really impressed with Robert Whittaker his ability to withstand those hard times in the fight and have a lot of positivity left a lot of confidence in his ability to win. ... In the trenches in this fight, Robert Whittaker still seemed to be able to bounce back, and I liked that. I thought it was inspiring." Despite his commendable performance, results are almost always the ultimate dictator in the UFC, and now Whittaker's record shows four losses in his past seven fights, albeit to elite competition. At 34, Whittaker has logged more than four hours of total fight time during his run at 185 pounds. It's a crossroads moment going forward, and with the top of the division being as intruiging as ever, Thomas said it would be a good time for Whittaker to drop down in rankings and fight someone who will truly serve as a barometer. "I think you give him Roman Kopylov," Thomas said. "I think you give him Kopylov before you start feeding him to the guys. Before we say, 'We're done with you and we're going to start feeding you.' Because Kopylov is somewhere in the back of the rankings. You give him Kopylov to say, 'We're giving you No. 15 and if you win that we keep you up here. We'll keep you fighting these guys. But if you lose that, now you've got to fight the up-and-comers.'" Fighting up-and-comers is surely a far cry from what Whittaker wants to do, but Thomas said it's not an easy spot. "The Reaper" needs a victory to keep his head above water with the emerging contenders, but as far as the pre-fight plans he expressed to have a "fairytale end" to his career with UFC gold? Thomas said that seems like a long shot. "No, if I had to bet I wouldn't assume he gets there," Thomas said. "It's interesting though because he said he had a four-fight plan to get back to a title. Now it looks like it's going to take about four fights. With a win over RDR it would've of been less than four fights." To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
