Fabian Edwards experienced a range of emotions over the past few weeks after being informed he was removed from the upcoming PFL middleweight tournament, only to eventually have his position reinstated with a fight against Impa Kasanganay booked for Friday.
The entire ordeal was caused by a visa issue for the British fighter attempting to travel into the United States, where the fights are held. However, he credits his manager with successfully navigating the situation. Edwards admitted the circumstances served as a distraction but did not prevent him from remaining prepared for his upcoming fight.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Edwards recounted, “I got the call on a Sunday saying that I’m out,” explaining it was due to a visa issue where the document wouldn`t arrive in time. He added, “Not so much an issue, just the time that it took for my visa to come back wasn’t going to be back in time. But my manager, Ali [Abdelaziz], went and did his thing and sorted it out. The fact that he had to pull on his contracts to do that, I appreciate that a lot. It’s nice to have someone like that in your corner to sort it out. I’m grateful.”
While the situation was resolved relatively quickly, within a couple of days, Edwards confessed it remained in the back of his mind slightly throughout his training camp. He focused on trying not to dwell on it, knowing he had to stay locked in and ensure he was training properly regardless of whether the fight was confirmed.
Given the limited spots in an eight-person tournament, Edwards is grateful that he was able to reclaim his position, especially knowing he could potentially compete up to three times over the next few months.
“I’m happy,” Edwards stated. “To be able to have the opportunity to go in there and do that, especially when last week or whatever it was, I thought it was taken away from me. I was happy to be back in. I’ve always said I want a lot of fights and I get my opportunity to do that.”
While Edwards is satisfied with his plans for 2025, the same cannot be said for some of the other fighters on the same PFL roster.
Johnny Eblen, Edwards’ former opponent and the current Bellator middleweight champion, is one of several fighters who have publicly complained about prolonged periods of inactivity, with no clear indication from the PFL regarding when they might compete again.
“Still waiting on PFL for some fight news,” Eblen posted in February, noting his most recent fight was against Edwards back in October 2024. He added, “Haven’t heard a peep from Donn [Davis] or the PFL team. What’s going on, guys?”
As much as he considers Eblen a professional rival, Edwards admits he feels for his former opponent and other champions like Corey Anderson and Patchy Mix, who have also voiced frustrations about long stretches of inactivity.
“It’s poor. You know what I mean?” Edwards commented. “There’s no other way to say about it. It’s poor. They need to sort it out because that could very much be me. In my mind, I’m not thinking because I’m fighting, forget everyone else. No, this is how we make our earning, this is what we put all our time and effort into.”
“To see all those guys on the sidelines for a year or over a year, it’s madness. I just hope they can sort out what they need to sort out,” he added.
While the PFL is planning to promote several “champion” series events in 2025, with the first card expected to take place in early summer, there are only so many slots available, leading to uncertainty about when or if certain athletes will compete.
Edwards understands the frustration Eblen and other fighters are facing, especially with so much uncertainty regarding the future.
“We’re going out there and putting our health on the line,” Edwards said. “I know obviously it’s our choice, but we’re still going out there and putting it on all the line. The fact that fighters get the worst end of the stick, it’s difficult. But this is what we choose.”
Despite their two previous fights, Edwards says he does not harbor any ill will towards Eblen. If anything, he hopes the Bellator middleweight champion gets busy so they could potentially meet again someday.
There’s no way to know if that can happen, but Edwards wants to do his part by winning the PFL middleweight tournament, and hopefully, Eblen is open to the same idea.
“I hope they fight him soon,” Edwards commented regarding Eblen. “I hope they fight all the guys soon. This is how we make our living. This is what we sacrifice everything for. Hopefully, they sort everything out.”
“But yeah, I get through the tournament, and I will be eyeing up that third fight. I will be looking for that third fight,” he concluded.
Oliver Croft