The heated rivalry between Dalton Rosta and Fabian Edwards has taken an unexpected turn as their upcoming PFL championship bout approaches, with Rosta launching a surprising attack on his opponent’s martial arts credentials.
The former Bellator competitors are set to clash on August 21 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood Florida, marking the culmination of their collision course through this year’s PFL World Tournament. What began as typical pre-match posturing has evolved into deeply personal exchanges that have captured the attention of the mixed martial arts community.
Fabian Ewards competed as a brown belt in 2021 at London Grappling Industries.
Rosta, known for his psychological warfare tactics, has zeroed in on Edwards’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu qualifications in what appears to be his most pointed criticism yet. The American wrestler, who boasts an impressive professional record with only one loss that he later avenged, has questioned the legitimacy of Edwards’ black belt status.
“He’s lost to plenty of wrestlers before and I heard him say to someone on the broadcast that he’s a jiu-jitsu black belt,”
Rosta said during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
“Who the f— gave him his black belt, man? I will beat him and his coach in the same f—ing round.”
The challenge represents a significant escalation in their war of words, with Rosta directly targeting not only Edwards but also the coaching team responsible for awarding the British MMA star his black belt in June 2023. This particular line of attack strikes at the heart of martial arts tradition where belt rankings represent years of dedication and skill development.
Edwards, who has built his reputation as a skilled striker with improving ground game, now finds himself defending credentials that are typically considered beyond reproach in the martial arts world. The timing of Rosta’s accusations adds extra weight to the controversy coming just weeks before their championship encounter.
“I’d submit both of them, this guy is not a black belt and we’re going to see… This is not a f—ing kickboxing match, I can fake the takedown, I can get takedowns, make him worried about it and put on pressure, there’s so much to factor in there,”
Rosta continued, outlining his tactical approach while maintaining his assault on Edwards’ credentials.
The American’s strategy appears designed to plant seeds of doubt while positioning himself as the superior grappler heading into their championship showdown. His comments suggest he views the matchup as an opportunity to expose what he perceives as weaknesses in Edwards’ ground game.
Despite the increasingly personal nature of their exchanges, Rosta maintains that his motivation stems from competitive drive rather than genuine animosity.
“He’s not underneath my skin, I’m just having so much fun with it,”
he explained.
“It’s not personal for me but I don’t like him. It’s not personal for me, at the end of the day I want to show exactly how much better I am than this guy.”
The veteran campaigner’s approach reflects his history of using psychological tactics to gain advantages over opponents. His amateur pedigree and professional success have established him as one of the most formidable competitors in the PFL’s middleweight division, making his confidence understandable even as his methods draw scrutiny.
“I hope it goes five rounds, to be honest with you, and I get to beat the s— out of this guy for five rounds. I want to take this man’s heart from him, I want him to quit on me,”
Rosta declared, outlining his vision for their championship encounter.
August 21 date approaches, the martial arts community will be watching closely to see whether Edwards can validate his black belt status against one of the division’s most accomplished wrestlers.
