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By James Brizuela
Contributing Writer
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The PFL has officially launched its new simplistic rankings and champion system, and one of the major fights that will get a unified champion is in the middleweight division.
More MMA: PFL Sheds Confusing Tournament Format to Usher in New Era Under John Martin
On March 20, PFL is hosting a new fight event in Madrid, Spain, which will be headlined by the battle between Costello Van Steenis and Fabian Edwards for the middleweight title. Though both have a version of the belt, the winner of this bout can call themselves the only champion in the PFL pantheon.
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Van Steenis and Edwards met once before back in 2020, but a lot has changed for both of them in the nearly six years since they faced off against one another in the Smart Cage. Van Steenis sat down with Newsweek Sports to discuss the upcoming fight, what it means to bring MMA to Spain, and more.
How are you feeling about the fight and taking MMA to Spain?
"I'm buzzing. I mean, I thought my dream was to be a world champion. It is and I made it come true. But taking an organization to my home country, that's crazy. That's just, that's just something that's just like a mission. Who would have thought of doing that? I mean, this isn't, this might be even bigger than winning the world title. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna be on my best performance ever, because I'm not losing in my home country."
Is fighting in your home country of Spain more important than the title?
"Winning of the fight was something really special, also coming back home and seeing my childhood and everybody that was crazy, but I believe now coming back home and with the belt, and now defending the belt in my home country is a different feeling. Man, it's like, it's crazy. It's man, I don't know how to take it. It hasn't really jumped into me, I think till the day that it will happen. But it's like, it's crazy, absolutely."
Van Steenis has been on a tear in the PFL, picking up three straight victories en route to securing the middleweight title. A submission of Gregory Babene in May 2024, led to another battle against Joao Dantas in November of that same year. With a spinning head kick, the current middleweight champion secured his title shot against middleweight legend Johnny Eblen.
Eblen and Van Steenis went all five rounds, and Van Steenis was able to secure a standing guillotine in the waning seconds of the fifth round, crowning him the middleweight champion. Going all five rounds is tough enough, especially against a talent like Eblen. When it comes to Edwards, Van Steenis does not believe he is prepared to go the distance.
You had an absolute war with Johnny Eblen to win the middleweight title. Do you expect the same thing to happen with Fabian Edwards going all five rounds?
"No, I don't think so. I don't hope so, because I rather finish. I don't want to get that tired again. But I believe this fight is going to be a lot of not easier. It's going to be much more activated, like, say, Johnny Eblen is a difficult guy to fight because he stalls the fight like taking you onto the floor. And most of his fights are, yeah, he won them through decision. Fabian is more of a guy that wants to chase you. Yeah, he's a good dancing partner, let's say like that. And it takes two good dancing partners to put on a good show, right? So I believe with Fabian is going to be a good one."
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Do you think Fabian Edwards can go all five rounds?
"My prediction is that I'll probably finish him in the first three rounds. I don't think it's going to go towards championship rounds. I don't see Fabian having the qualities to do that. He is a lot better fighter than that than when we fought five, six years ago, but I believe I've grown not even two or three times. I believe I've grown five times better than that. He's been growing the last couple of five, six years, so. And he fought against Eblen two times. He is fighting for the third time for the world title. He's never accomplished that. I only had one chance, and I finished it, and I was the one that took away his '0.' So he's got a lot of this disadvantage, I believe, for this fight. And yeah, we're gonna see how he comes up. But even though, if he comes better than ever, I'm gonna be I'm gonna be way better, absolutely."
You guys faced one another back in 202, almost six years ago. What about your game has evolved since then?
"Like I said before, like Fabian's game and my game, my game has evolved so much. I'm evolving every fight. And I really do believe now, since this is not long ago. I'm touching prime, I don't think. And now, with being prime, I mean, like I'm every fight I'm doing, I'm a better fighter. So with this upcoming fight, I'm going to be a better fighter, and my prime just keeps on growing. I believe, absolutely."
Do you see similarities to when you fought him back in 2020 that he's still pulling off now?
"Fabianwas a dangerous person like back in 2020, now he's a lot more dangerous, sir, but not so much. I mean, everything he does, he's like one trick pony. Everything is from the left. He's got a good left kick. He's got a good left punch. He's got a nice, good left elbow, but everything from the right is not really, he's got a good gas tank. That's what he proved to Dalton. But back against Johnny, he was getting tired. So it actually depends, yeah, how you put the pace on him, I don't believe he's got a lot of openings I've seen in his last fights."
Van Steenis' journey to the top has not been easy. Despite only three losses in his career, a major defining moment was when he took on Douglas Lima, a fighter he idolized. The loss is one that the middleweight champion has used as inspiration.
Is there any specific performance in your past fights that you kind of carry with you that's made you a better fighter now?
"Yeah, the performance against Douglas Lima. I that was one of the most, not most painful. I was a very big fan from Lima. You know what they say? 'Train so hard when your idols become your rivals.' I had so much respect for this guy. I was like, I even in 2017 or 18. This was I even was like, like, a little bit sad, because he was here in Amsterdam, and I really wanted to take a picture with him. Like, shit. I don't have a car, man, I'm broke. I didn't have a car at that moment, so I couldn't drive down there to take a picture with him and maybe get some training with him. But hey, in 2023 or 2024, I got the chance to fight him, I was like, Oh man, I've been such a fan of this man, and I'll get to fight him, though that's been my mistake. I respect him that much that I couldn't use the aggression, I couldn't use the fire, I couldn't have the willpower to want to hurt the guy. And since then, I don't have any idols."
Your fight's about to happen here, coming up in the next three-ish weeks. What's your message to Fabian?
"Fabian, I hope you're going to make weight and get ready for the 20th of March, because you're going to have a good siesta in Spain. We're going to put you to sleep."
Van Steenis will take on Edwards on March 20 in Madrid, Spain, with the full PFL fight being streamed on ESPN+ at 4:00 PM EST.
To see the full interview, watch the video above. For more MMA news and original interviews, head to Newsweek Sports.
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