Van Steenis ends Edwards’ title dream againImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Costello van Steenis has won 18 of his 21 professional fightsByPaul BattisonBBC Sport JournalistPublished23 minutes agoCostello van Steenis ended Fabian Edwards’ world title dream once again as he stopped the Briton in the third round to retain his PFL middleweight title in Madrid.Edwards was looking to win a world title at the third attempt following defeats in 2023 and 2024, but some questionable tactics led to him being knocked out in the third round.Despite appearing to hold an advantage in the stand-up Edwards, 32, continuously opted to grapple and it backfired as Van Steenis stopped him with a flurry of elbows while defending a takedown against the cage.Victory marked the 33-year-old’s second win over Edwards, after triumphing in 2020, and the first defence of his title.It was made sweeter for the Dutch-Spaniard by winning in front of his home fans in the largest MMA event to take place in Spain.”It went exactly as I wanted it to,” stated Van Steenis.”I didn’t do that alone; thank you to the crowd. This is the best country in the world. We are the best country in the world.”With the UFC yet to host an event in the Spain, the PFL took advantage when Van Steenis became champion in July by building a card around him.Van Steenis, who grew up around Benidorm before moving back to the Netherlands, stated pre-fight it was a “dream come true” to compete in front of his own fans.
The event was watched by a number of sports stars at cageside, including Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s newest England squad earlier on Friday.
