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On Thursday, August 21, 2025, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Fabian Edwards stepped out of his brother Leon’s shadow in spectacular fashion, capturing the PFL Middleweight World Championship with a knockout that echoed family history.
Facing unbeaten American prospect Dalton Rosta in the tournament final at PFL 10, Edwards produced a picture-perfect third-round head kick that ended the contest at just 1:28 of the round. The strike instantly silenced the pro-Rosta crowd and earned the Birmingham-born fighter not only the championship belt but also a $500,000 winner’s prize.
The opening rounds were not all smooth sailing for Edwards. Rosta, 29, began brightly, using his wrestling pedigree to take the Englishman down and keep him pinned against the fence. For much of the first round, Edwards was forced to work defensively, warding off ground-and-pound while searching for space to escape.
In the second, the pattern continued, though Edwards began to find moments of success. He landed sharp counter punches and low kicks, gradually loosening Rosta’s grip on the fight. Still, by the end of the second round, the American looked the busier fighter and appeared on course to edge the scorecards.
But Edwards has long been known for his ability to stay patient. In the third, he seized his chance. As Rosta pushed forward aggressively, Edwards timed a perfectly disguised left high kick, catching him flush on the temple. The shot dropped Rosta immediately, leaving referee Marc Goddard no choice but to wave off the contest.
The knockout drew instant comparisons to Leon Edwards’ famous finish of Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in 2022 — a victory that earned Leon the UFC welterweight title. Watching cageside in Florida, Leon leapt over the barrier and stormed the cage as Fabian’s kick landed, embracing his younger brother in an emotional moment of celebration.
Speaking afterwards, Fabian acknowledged the parallels but stressed this was his own triumph. “People will always talk about Leon’s head kick, and rightly so — it was one of the greatest moments in UFC history. But tonight was my moment. I’ve worked for years to become a world champion, and I finally did it.”
For Rosta, who entered the bout undefeated, the result was a brutal setback. The Pennsylvania native had controlled long stretches of the fight but was unable to withstand Edwards’ striking when the opportunity presented itself.
In defeat, Rosta showed class, congratulating his opponent: “He caught me clean. That’s the fight game. I’ll be back stronger.” His record now stands at 11–1, while Edwards improves to 13–3 with the win.
The victory establishes Fabian Edwards as one of the PFL’s top attractions and a key figure in the organisation’s middleweight division. With the $500,000 prize and championship belt secured, he is now expected to face reigning PFL middleweight champion Costello van Steenis in a unification bout later this year.
The Edwards family, meanwhile, continues to leave its mark on world MMA. With Leon still competing at the elite level in the UFC and Fabian now carrying championship gold in the PFL, the brothers from Birmingham have cemented their place among the sport’s most successful fighting families.
For fans, the image of Fabian Edwards landing a head kick so reminiscent of his brother’s iconic strike will remain one of 2025’s defining moments in combat sports. More importantly for Fabian himself, it marks the culmination of years of perseverance through setbacks, injuries, and near-misses.
As the crowd erupted in Hollywood and Leon lifted Fabian’s hand aloft, the message was unmistakable: the Edwards legacy in MMA is only growing stronger.
On August 21, 2025, Fabian Edwards wrote his own chapter — and it ended with a championship belt around his waist and half a million dollars in his pocket.
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