Fabian Edwards secured his spot in the PFL 2025 middleweight finals on Friday night, following a dominant decision victory over Josh Silveira at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Edwards (15-4), younger brother of former UFC champion Leon Edwards, proved his worth with solid boxing and takedown defense, outpointing Silveira (14-5) in a close semifinal. All three judges scored it 29-28 in favor of Edwards, who will now face Dalton Rosta (11-1) on August 21. This result is significant for Edwards, who competed for the Bellator MMA middleweight championship against Johnny Eblen in 2023 and 2024, albeit without success. At 32 years old, he remains one of the top contenders at 185 pounds, despite those two losses. His path to Friday’s semifinals included a victory over the 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion, Impa Kasanganay. Rosta, from Pennsylvania, also secured his spot in the final after a split decision victory over Aaron Jeffery on Friday. Furthermore, on Friday, heavyweights Oleg Popov (21-2) and Alexandr Romanov (19-3) advanced to the 2025 finals. Romanov did so under unusual circumstances, as his semifinal against Valentin Moldavsky ended in a no-contest after the bout was stopped at the end of the first round due to an accidental groin strike. According to PFL rules, the judges scored the no-contest strictly for advancement purposes, favoring Romanov.
Light heavyweights Antonio Carlos Jr. (18-6) and Sullivan Cauley (8-1) also advanced. Cauley achieved this as the underdog against former Bellator MMA champion Phil Davis. Cauley hurt Davis on multiple occasions, achieving a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
