Dalton Rosta Looking to Right Ship in Charlotte Friday

Dalton Rosta (11-0 MMA, 2-2 PFL) started his MMA career almost a decade ago in the amateur ranks. From his first fight, it would become clear that the man now nicknamed "Hercules" would be a force to be reckoned with on any given fight night.

He fought seven times as an amateur combatant, winning all seven of those bouts by way of knockout or technical knockout. Three of those wins were recorded inside the opening round of action. As 2018 gave way to 2019, Dalton Rosta, a former walk-on of the Youngstown State University football program, turned pro in MMA.

On March 29 of that year, Dalton Rosta would make his first walk to the cage as a professional MMA fighter in the late Bellator MMA, drawing the assignment of Cody Vidal (1-2 MMA, 0-1 Bellator.) This fight didn't get beyond the opening round, with Rosta winning by TKO after Vidal resigned from the contest due to a knee injury, starting a seven-fight winning streak.

Dalton Rosta Returns to Win Column After Aug. '23 Loss, Followed by Two-Fight Skid

Three years ago, Dalton Rosta experienced something that had never happened to that point in his combat sports career. During Bellator 298 in a fight versus Aaron Jeffery, the judges' scorecards were returned in the latter's favor, making the bout his first loss across all competitions in MMA.

He rebounded by getting his hand raised in victory three times in a row en route to a berth in the 2025 PFL Middleweight Tournament Championship against Fabian Edwards. During the third round of a scheduled five, Edwards connected on a brutal kick to Dalton Rosta's head, knocking him out.

Rosta would return to the cage this past spring in somewhat of a "home game" for the New Castle, PA product in PFL Pittsburgh on March 28. Impa Kasanganay (20-7 MMA, 10-4 PFL) served as his adversary the last Saturday in March, winning by way of first-round knockout.

Dalton Rosta Eager to Turn the Page Friday vs. Bryan Battle

This weekend, the PFL holds an event for the third straight week. Friday night, The Queen City of Charlotte, NC will play host to a card headlined by a fight between Dalton Rosta and Bryan Battle (12-3, 1 NC MMA, 0-1 PFL) in the latter's sophomore PFL appearance.

Battle was a member of the UFC's active roster until last year, when the promotion cut him due to issues making prescribed weight. Ahead of UFC 319 at United Center in Chicago, he tipped the scales at 190 lbs, 4 lbs beyond the 186-lb middleweight nontitle maximum for his fight against Nursulton Ruziboev, resulting in thatcontest being scrubbed.

Earlier this summer, Rosta was interviewed by Home of Fight, where he discussed the initial reaction to the PFL signing Bryan Battle to a contract, citing a group text he sent once the news became official.

"I was like, 'I really like him,'" Dalton Rosta began, "but then I was like 'He just got signed to the PFL, so it sucks, because I'm probably going to have to beat his ass.'"

Dalton Rosta Playing Heel Role in PFL Charlotte Main Event

Not only will Dalton Rosta be going up against Bryan Battle this weekend, he'll also be fighting a partisan crowd inside Charlotte's Bojangles Arena, the home court of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Bryan Battle's fight camp is based in Charlotte.

Rosta talked about his mindset as the visiting fighter in Friday night's main event

"The thought process is just win by any means necessary," he said. "I can't let anything get in my way, anyone get in my way. I've got to lock in completely. Training's got to come first, diet, conditioning, everything. I'm going all- in this camp and I'm going to give myself the best chance possible of this not only being a win, not only being a finish, but being my best performance to-date.

Sizing Up Bryan Battle Against Dalton Rosta

Ahead of PFL Charlotte, Bryan Battle owns a 3-1 record with one no-contest in his last five fights under MMA rules. After being cut by the UFC, he made his PFL debut in Pittsburgh back in March, losing by first-round submission to Johnny Eblen (18-1 MMA, 4-1 PFL) due to a rear-naked choke. 

Both fighters in this main event are coming in off of losses, leading to one final question: Who will emerge victorious?