PFL middleweight Dalton Rosta looks like the bully in every American coming-of-age movie you’ve ever seen.
You know, the dude who’s the captain of the football team. He goes out with the most popular cheerleader in the school. You would eagerly bet all of your early possessions that he had frosted tips and has stuffed a nerd in a locker at one point in his life.
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“A jock!” Fabian Edwards interrupts me, halting my labyrinthine quest to pigeonhole his upcoming PFL foe, who he meets Thursday in the main event of the Hollywood, Florida card, which doubles as the $500,000 finals of this year’s PFL middleweight tournament.
While my stereotype is built solely around Rosta’s All-American appearance, Edwards believes his opponent has far more in common with Channing Tatum, who played a lovable former football player in “21 Jump Street,” and Zac Efron, who portrayed a basketball star in “High School Musical.”
Edwards, the younger of the famed Birmingham brothers — older sibling Leon Edwards is a former UFC welterweight champion — has been baffled by his interactions with the American Top Team talent all week. Go and see for yourself — nearly every promotional video follows the same pattern. A glowing Rosta appears on the screen and immediately begins to insult Edwards, who in turn looks very confused by what’s taking place.
“I’m just thinking that he’s acting, he’s always performing, you know?” Edwards tells Uncrowned, days out from the fight. “Every time he opens his mouth, I feel like he’s acting. I can’t take this guy seriously in those interactions. I really can’t.
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“He’s acting tough, but really he’s just a nice American college kid. This is what it looks like when a nice kid is trying to act tough. I know he’s putting on a show. It’s funny to me.”
In a way, Edwards sees the insults and critiques of his abilities as a compliment. As far as he’s concerned, Rosta is attempting to make up some ground on him before they meet on Thursday, when no remark or jibe will factor into whose arm is raised in victory for PFL’s six-figure prize.
“He obviously thinks he needs to weaken me somewhere,” Edwards says. “I don’t have to tell you — I come from a very tough area, we grew up on the streets. Someone coming at me with little insults is not going to affect me. On Thursday I get to go in there and put my hands on him. It’s all just talk and it will have no impact on the fight when we’re locked in the cage.”
As the old adage goes: Appearances can be deceiving.
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It’s true in the case of Rosta, an NCAA Division II wrestler who boasts an undefeated amateur boxing pedigree and 11-1 pro MMA record. Like Edwards, his talent was identified by Bellator and he signed to the promotion in 2019. He contested every professional bout of his fledging career under the banner up until this tournament, where he offed Sadibou Sy and avenged his sole career loss to Aaron Jeffrey to book his place in the finals.
While Edwards acknowledged Rosta’s wrestling ability, he praised little else of his counterpart’s skill set.
“He’s just a wrestler,” Edwards says. “He can box a little bit, but his main thing is to wrestle. He even said it in the face-to-face, he said, ‘I’m going to wrestle you for five rounds’, and that’s it. That’s probably his best path to victory, but it’s not going to happen, I feel like I’m going to style on this guy. He’s a blown-up wrestler.
“I’ll be on this guy from the jump. I know I can keep my pace going deep into a fight and I know he can’t. He mentioned to me that he’s explosive — bro, Dalton is not faster or stronger than me. If he really believes that’s true, he’s going to be in for a shock. He fights in a way that relies on being explosive, whereas I rely on my skills.”
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Speaking of movies, the Edwards’ brothers story has often been floated as perfect fodder for a Hollywood blockbuster. Even if you shrank it down to Fabian’s tournament run, you could at least get a mini-series out of it.
Initially told he wouldn’t be able to secure a visa to fight in the opening round, he was then thrust into a short-notice fight against two-time light heavyweight tournament champion Impa Kasanganay. After his second-round knockout of Kasanganay, he went on to defeat Josh Silveira to book his ticket to the finals.
Now, all that stands in the way of him and $500,000 is Rosta.
“I thought this dream was done, mate,” he says. “I thought I was finished. When I got the call to say I was out, I went straight down to my mum’s shop to cheer myself up with some jerk chicken, and then the day after I was back in. It’s been a wild journey, but as soon as I got into this tournament I told everyone that I was going to win it — and now I’m about to do that.”
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As for what lies beyond the tournament, should he claim victory, Edwards believes it will be the perfect setup for a rematch with new PFL middleweight champion Costello Van Steenis, who edged him out via split decision back in September 2020.
“I don’t want to hear this ‘Tournament champion’ stuff. Once I win this belt it’s world champion versus world champion,” Edwards says. “I’ll have taken out three of the best guys in the division and then I’ll be straight onto the Costello rematch. That will be an entertaining fight.”
