I know this isn't a PFL “side event” such as PFL Europe etc., but aside from the main and co main event I don't have a crazy amount of excitement for the card which is why I am not making a video. The card is taking place in Spain, which is not a bad idea at all considering how popular Ilia Topuria has become in the UFC. I believe the card will be broadcast on ESPN at 01:00 PM ET on Friday.
COSTELLO VAN STEENIS (17-3) vs. FABIAN EDWARDS (16-4) 2 – Middleweight Championship
Van Steenis won the first fight between these two, but that was in 2020 and he won a split decision. He is coming off a huge upset win where he defeated Eblen by submission in round 5 with 9 seconds to go. If he didn't get the late finish he was going to lose a pretty clear decision. Fabian Edwards fights nearly the same way as his brother Leon Edwards. Leon has always had great grappling defense, and Fabian is also a decent defensive grappler himself. Recently we have seen a bit of change in Fabian's game though. After his second loss to Johnny Eblen, he has been much more aggressive and it has resulted in a couple big knock outs. Generally, Fabian is a point fighting striker like his brother though. Van Steenis has been around Bellator for a long time but has always been quite inactive. I have never really been his biggest fan either as I actually picked Kamil Oniszczuk to beat him in 2022. I like Fabian as a fighter as he has a unique skillset at middleweight. If he wins I wonder if they do an Eblen trilogy as he seems to be one of PFL's biggest stars. I am picking Edwards to out point Van Steenis on the feet by being the better striker. Edwards is also the underdog at the time of writing.
Pick: Fabian Edwards by decision. Low confidence.
AJ MCKEE JR. (23-2) vs. ADAM BORICS (20-3) – Featherweight
This is the only other fight on the card with any name value. Honestly I don't know how committed McKee is anymore as he was a superstar for Bellator at his peak but since the merger we haven't heard much from him at all. He had a good fight with Paul Hughes at lightweight but has dropped back down to featherweight since then. Of course McKee is still an elite well-rounded fighter but I find it odds PFL hasn't been booking him as he is one of their biggest names. With that being said he should smoke Borics though. Borics is a very fun fighter but my opinion on him has changed so much since he lost to Pitbull. In the PFL he has not looked like the same fighter that put up the great fight with Mads Burnell. Borics is still a high volume striker but his take down defense is awful. His worst performance is his win over Enrique Barzola. Barzola is over the hill and was coming up a weight class to fight him and he looked hesitant and got taken down often. McKee should see these holes and exploit them pretty easily.
Pick: AJ McKee Jr. by KO/TKO. High confidence.
FRANCO TENAGLIA (5-2) vs. YASSIN NAJID (9-5) – Welterweight
I did not know who Tenaglia was until now as I don't watch BKFC, but he has 580,000 followers on IG so for the PFL he is a pretty good signing. On paper he is a BKFC fighter who is also a 5'9″ welterweight so who knows how far he can take this. He hasn't been beating anyone good in MMA and I would even argue his BKFC wins don't look good on paper as they are just against washed up MMA fighters (which is BKFC anyway, I guess). He has a boxing win over Abner Lloveras who was once in the UFC and Bellator, and is still fighting in MMA in 2026 at the grand age of 43. That would be a fun match up to do under the PFL banner. Tenaglia can grapple as his recent MMA wins are by first round submission but they are against guys who don't know what they are doing. Najid has a winning record himself but he is 41 now and hasn't fought in 2 years. I also doubt he knows what he is doing on the mat. We saw him submitted in less than 30 seconds by Von Flue the last time out. Franco is -500 and Yassin is actually terrible but who knows honestly. Hard to say high confidence as Yassin does have some legit experience but this should be a big Tenaglia finish all day.
Pick: Franco Tenaglia by KO/TKO. Medium-high confidence.
JACINTA AUSTIN (8-2) vs. BENITA VAN ROOIJ (7-1) – Women's Strawweight
This was originally supposed to be Jacinta Austin vs. Victoria Dudakova which would have been a good fight. Austin comes from professional kickboxing and has very high level striking for MMA. If you were to fault her for anything it would be her grappling defense which has held her back from making a legit run in OKTAGON. Van Rooij is a pretty hyped prospect herself but her striking is not going to be good enough to hand with Austin. We have seen Rooij dropped in multiple fights now, even in wins. She can get pressured easily, and beaten in the clinch. Not a good combination when Austin also has good knees and elbows herself. Unless Rooij can take Austin down consistently, I am pretty confident this will look easy for Austin. It is most likely an Austin decision but Rooij's striking defense is so bad she may even get finished.
Pick: Jacinta Austin by decision. Medium confidence.
LINTON VASSELL (25-10) vs. JOSE AUGUSTO (11-5) – Heavyweight
Ah, Linton Vassell. I don't think my track record of picking this guys fights is very good. He is 43 years old now and I say it every single time, but he is a very fast and athletic heavyweight and it is only a matter of time before age catches up to him. You could make the argument that age already has as his last few performances weren't particularly strong but I would counter argue that with the fact that he has been fighting good competition. Linton has not fought for two years though, and if this fight was two years ago I would be confident in him to win. Augusto is just a typical obese heavyweight. He had an unimpressive run in Bellator a few years ago, then bounced around RIZIN and LFA for a bit. He just uses his size to clinch and pressure. Augusto will look to keep this on the feet but I think we are going to see Vassell wrestle. At 43 it is impossible to know how Vassell is going to look, but this is a big step down in competition from who we have seen Vassell fight last. Ground and pound TKO for Vassell, usually when heavies are taken down they struggle to get back up.
Pick: Linton Vassell by KO/TKO. Low confidence.
KEVIN CORDERO (15-5) vs. LUCIANO PEREIRA (15-1) – Bantamweight
Luciano Pereira was supposed to be on DWCS in 2023 at flyweight, but he failed to weigh in and has moved to bantamweight since. I will be honest I don't love the move but we have seen him fight twice since then and he has got two first round knockout wins. I do know Pereira's game relatively well as he managed by Martin Pakciarz (who is my best friend). Pereira just has insane power for being a small dude and his one loss was by DQ. My big concern here is that Pereira is stepping up in competition big time here. I love Martin but he builds his guys very slowly at Samurai Fight House. Cordero is an interesting case as he has been very inactive but he is still young. He was once a promising fighter but seems like his career has been mismanaged as he is now 1-3 in his last 4. Can't say I am confident in it as Pereira is purely a bombing striker and Cordero is a decent grappler with a size advantage, but I am going to back the aggressiveness of Pereira to win by KO.
Pick: Luciano Pereira by KO/TKO. Low confidence.
