PFL Charlotte headliner Dalton Rosta is coming off a rough patch, with back-to-back losses against Impa Kasanganay and Fabian Edwards, but he still has a sizeable opportunity ahead in a big fight with Bryan Battle this August.
Speaking with Cageside Press during the PFL’s Summer Series kickoff, Rosta reflected on his last outing, which saw him finished by Kasanganay.
“At the end of the day when I look at that fight, I was fighting smart up until I wasn’t, I was fighting well up until I wasn’t,” stated Rosta (11-3). “Same story with the fight before that. F*ck Fabian Edwards. I just can’t do that going forward. I gotta fight smart, and I can’t turn sh*t into a coin flip.”
Rosta recognizes that in his fight with Impa Kasanganay, he was throwing to take his opponent’s head off, and slipped because of it. That sort of wild approach backfired, and adjustments must be made. Still, he remains in the mix at a time where the PFL’s middleweight division is arguably its hottest.
“I’m still right in the mix. A win over Bryan Battle, I’m right there. I’m one fight away, if that. With the performance I put on Bryan Battle, people are going to be like ‘aww he lost two in a row, why would you give him a title shot after that?’ It could f*cking happen. When the numbers make sense, it’s a business at the end of the day, and there’s really nobody else in line.”
As Rosta pointed out, Fabian Edwards just lost, while Johnny Eblen and Impa Kasangany are fighting for an interim belt. “Who’s next after that? It could be me. They could make me do one more, but I guarantee you I’m not far out. And this one’s gonna put me right back in the mix.”
Rosta started his career a perfect 8-0, and avenged his first loss to Aaron Jeffery. In the gym, alongside the likes of Johnny Eblen, he’s acquitted himself well. “When I’m at my best, I’m the best on the planet period, and I whole-heartedly believe that,” stated Rosta. He feels that even Eblen will attest to his skills, it’s just a matter of showing he can put it all together in a fight.
“It’s just about putting that into play. I can do it at practice, I see what my potential is, I can see what I’m capable of, but for some reason it hasn’t been translating. So we gotta make it translate,” admitted Rosta. “I don’t know what the answer is. Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but I’m going to keep working hard anyway, I’m going to keep knocking on that door, and if nobody lets me in, I’m going to kick the b*tch down.”
Watch our full interview with PFL Charlotte’s Dalton Rosta above. The event takes place on August 7, 2026 at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.
