Matches to make after PFL Charlotte

Bryan Battle gets his first PFL win and looks forward to his future here 🙌#PFLCharlotte pic.twitter.com/aGgu8XalPC — PFL (@PFLMMA) August 8, 2026 The Professional Fighters League held its third event in as many weeks on Friday, visiting Charlotte, North Carolina, where six of the top 10 middleweight contenders were in action. In the main event, former middleweight tournament finalist Dalton Rosta squared off against Charlotte’s own Bryan Battle. The action provided some clarity in the middleweight division and created several intriguing matchmaking possibilities. Here are five fights to make following PFL Charlotte:Bryan Battle vs. Fabian Edwards Neither Battle nor Rosta took many risks in their technical, hard-fought encounter, but the Charlotte native emerged with a split decision victory. Battle fended off most of Rosta’s wrestling attacks and said in his post-fight interview that he wants to stay active and face another opponent before the end of the year. Rather than facing one of the other winners from the card, Battle should welcome Edwards back to the PFL cage in a high-stakes middleweight matchup.Simeon Powell vs. Antonio Carlos Jr. Powell earned the biggest win of his young career by defeating 2024 PFL tournament champion Dovlet Yagshimuradov in a fight that drew some displeasure from the crowd. The victory should move Powell up the light heavyweight rankings. One of Powell’s two career losses came last year against 2025 PFL tournament champion Carlos Jr., who has not competed since winning it all last season. Powell has fought twice since his loss to Carlos Jr. and now has an opportunity to avenge that defeat, show the development in his game and strengthen his case for title contention sooner rather than later. Related » PFL Charlotte round-by-round scoring Aaron Jeffery vs. Boris Mbarga Atangana Taking on another ranked middleweight in Joshua Silveira, Jeffery got back in the win column in his first appearance in more than a year. Jeffery will find himself in the middle of the middleweight pack. If he wants to continue climbing the rankings, he should take on undefeated rising star Boris Atangana. Atangana enjoyed a successful PFL Europe run and earned a win earlier this year at PFL Brussels. A victory over a veteran such as Jeffery could cement Atangana’s status as a title contender. Cris Cyborg’s final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.Lewis McGrillen-Evans vs. Sergio Pettis In one of the PFL’s most entertaining fights of the year, McGrillen-Evans made a quick turnaround after competing three weeks ago. McGrillen-Evans emerged with a gritty decision victory over Brandon Lewis in a bloody three-round war in which both men sustained significant cuts. Earlier this month, McGrillen-Evans was set to face veteran Pettis at PFL Austin, but Pettis was forced to withdraw due to injury. Once Pettis has recovered, the promotion should rebook the matchup to continue testing McGrillen-Evans against the top contenders in the bantamweight division.Josh Fremd vs. Impa Kasanganay Since arriving in the PFL earlier this year, Fremd has done nothing but win and deliver violence, and he continued that on Friday night. Fremd faced Jhony Gregory in a meeting between two fighters who recently cracked the top 10. He finished Gregory by second-round technical knockout after a brutal flurry, potentially setting up a fight with former champion Kasanganay. Coming off a short-notice fight against Johnny Eblen for the interim title, Kasanganay has fallen in the rankings because of the division’s depth and activity. A matchup with Fremd would provide a useful test of where the former champion stands in a division full of rising contenders.