PFL 2025 World Tournament Dark Horse: Aaron Jeffery

The last round of Professional Fighters League semifinals takes place on Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, where the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight finals are set to fall into place at PFL 2025 World Tournament 7. The middleweight draw features several familiar names to the PFL roster and a high-stakes rematch on one side of the bracket.

With just four fighters remaining in the middleweight tournament, there is still one dark horse name to watch: a former Bellator MMA top contender in Aaron Jeffery. He is slated for a rematch against Dalton Rosta—a man he previously defeated back in 2023 when the two were still part of the Bellator roster. It was Rosta’s lone career defeat. While the latter is focused on redemption, Jeffery is still being overlooked in this matchup and in the tournament. Jeffery will not only have a chance to defeat Rosta for a second time, but there is also the possibility that he faces Fabian Edwards in the tournament championship, which could mean a shot at revenge for the Canadian.

Known for bringing plenty of pressure and great wrestling throughout all his fights, Jeffery has been a consistent contender at middleweight and now has an opportunity to clinch his place in the championship fight. In the first round of the tournament, Jeffery was able to come away with a split decision victory against Murad Ramazanov. It was his second straight decision win, having previously outpointed former Bellator champion Douglas Lima.

Jeffery’s time spent in the cage, along with the high-level quality of his recent opponents, has made him a dark horse to monitor closely in the semifinals. If he’s able to once again get through Rosta, he will have either a chance at revenge against Edwards or a new matchup against Joshua Silveira.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the Semifinals of the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, June 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

Jeffery has continued to face the very best opponents in his division, regardless of the promotion, and while that may bring added expectations, he provides real pressure of his own. That pressure has led him to a 16-5 record, and while he continues to get thrown to the wolves, he continues to pass the tests in front of him. Jeffery has long been a contender, and in 2025, he has the opportunity to become a tournament champion with just two more victories.

Redemption is on @DaltonRosta mind heading into Chicago...@aajmma has other plans 😤👊

▶️Follow Dalton Rosta and Aaron Jeffery's road to PFL Chicago prior to their rematch in the 2025 PFL World Tournament Semifinal

📺📲PFL Origins: Edwards v Silveira is out now on the PFL MMA… pic.twitter.com/ShjjfOsNnd

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 23, 2025