The Professional Fighters League made its debut in Pittsburgh on Saturday with PFL Pittsburgh headlined by middleweights Johnny Eblen and Bryan Battle.
Former middleweight champ (in Bellator MMA) Johnny Eblen looked to bounce back from the first loss of his professional career when he took on the debuting Bryan Battle in the night’s main event. Eblen had fallen to Costello van Steenis for the inaugural PFL middleweight title last year. As for Battle, The Ultimate Fighter 29 winner was returning to MMA for the first time since 2024, when he defeated Randy Brown at UFC 310.
Battle’s UFC run was cut short by multiple misses at the scale, leading the promotion to release him following UFC 319, where he came in at 190lbs for a middleweight fight with Nursulton Ruziboev that was eventually cancelled.
Fighting twice for Dirty Boxing last year, it was back to the cage for Battle, in a big test against American Top Team’s Eblen.
The co-main event in Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had former PFL tournament winner Impa Kasanganay back in action against Dalton Rosta.
Where to Watch PFL Pittsburgh
PFL Pittsburgh takes place at the UMPC Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, March 28, 2026. The main card streams live on ESPN2 in the U.S., with the prelims available on the ESPN app. Full results can be found below.
PFL Pittsburgh: Eblen vs. Battle Results
Main card
Middleweight: Johnny Eblen def. Bryan Battle by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:10
Middleweight: Impa Kasanganay def. Dalton Rosta by KO (punches), Round 1, 3:18
Women’s Flyweight: Ariane Lipski da Silva def. Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision
Featherweight: Alexei Pergande def. Julio Arce by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Bantamweight: Lazaro Dayron def. Jacob Thrall by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 30–27)
Preliminary card
Catchweight (140lb): Jack Cartwright def. Allan Begosso by split decision (29–28, 27–29, 29–28)
Lightweight: Jakub Kaszuba def. Natan Schulte by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)
Lightweight: Dakota Bush def. Robert Watley by TKO, Round 1, 0:34
Welterweight: Ernesto Rodriguez def. Masayuki Kikuiri by majority decision (28–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Women’s Flyweight: Tatiana Postarnakova def. Elora Dana by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight: Josh Fremd def. Jarrah Al-Silawi by knockout (left hook), Round 3, 3:57
Featherweight: Frederik Dupras def. Ethan Goss by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 2:46
