Bryan Battle's hometown showdown was a success.
Battle, winner of season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter, picked up his first win under the PFL banner by beating Dalton Rosta in the main event of PFL Charlotte, which took place Friday at Bojangles Coliseum in North Carolina. Battle (13-3) defeated Rosta (11-4) in a split decision that read 29-28 on all three judges' scorecards – two in favor of Battle and one for Rosta.
Battle, who's from Charlotte, was over the moon with his win.
"I know y'all didn't think 'The Butcher' was going to lose in a fistfight in Charlotte," Battle said in his post-fight interview. "I know ya'll didn't think 'The Butcher' was going to lose in a fistfight at home. That ain't never going to happen."
THE HOMETOWN KID Bryan Battle
defeats Dalton Rosta by split decision 💪#PFLCharlotte | Main Card LIVE NOW on ESPN pic.twitter.com/LowJZarCyY
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 8, 2026
Battle struggled in the first round with Rosta's pressure and grappling. Rosta controlled him for the majority of that round. However, in the second and third rounds, Battle was able to defend a lot of the takedown and clinch attempts from the American Top Team fighter, while also landing the better shots on the feet. It was enough to secure Battle the last two rounds, along with the victory, on two judges' scorecards.
With this victory, Battle bounced back from a submission loss to current interim PFL middleweight champion Johnny Eblen in his PFL debut back in March. Battle is now 5-1 in MMA in his past 6 bouts. "The Butcher," who competed in the UFC from 2021-25, was released from the UFC in August 2025 due to a series of weight misses, not performance, given his 7-1 record in the octagon.
On the other hand, Rosta now finds himself on a three-fight losing streak. Prior to PFL Charlotte, Rosta had back-to-back knockout losses to former PFL champion Impa Kasanganay and former PFL tournament winner Fabian Edwards.
Full PFL Charlotte results:
- Bryan Battle def. Dalton Rosta via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Simeon Powell def. Dovlet Yagshimuradov via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Aaron Jeffery def. Josh Silveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Lewis McGrillen def. Brandon Lewis via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Josh Fremd def. Jhony Gregory via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:44
- Denis Goltsov def. Hasan Mezhiev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:52
- Cheyden Leialoha def. Robbie Ring via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Cheyanne Bowers def. Elora Dana via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:36
- Landry Ward def. Michael Boylan via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Bruno Cappelozza def. Valentin Moldavsky via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jonathan Martin def. Wilson Lopshire via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-27)
- Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Eduardo Neves via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:01
- Trey Waters def. Trukon Carson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:37
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL Charlotte results: Brian Battle edges Dalton Rosta in hometown win
