Josh Fremd was contrite about the mistakes he made in his past during the PFL Pittsburgh event last month. After being cut from the UFC, he was hoping to find a spot in mixed martial arts somewhere. Fremd knocked out Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi with a left hook to improve to 12-6 as a pro.

Fremd, who now lives in Colorado, announced on social media Wednesday that the PFL has chosen to offer him a new deal following the fight.

"Job interview in Pittsburgh went well," Fremd wrote. "Try blessed to STILL chase this dream in the Rockies."

Fremd, who wrestled at Connellsville High School before attending Slippery Rock University, went 2-4 in the UFC. He was 20-15 during his senior season with the Falcons and placed second in section.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

MOON TWP - Ariane Da Silva considered retiring after her time with the UFC came to an end. After all the time the Brazil native spent honing her martial arts skills, she wasn't quite ready to let things go.

When da Silva made her debut in front of a crowd that hadn't seen a global MMA promotion come to town in nine years, she felt good about her decision to stay in the sport. Da Silva picked up a 29-28 (x3) unanimous decision win over Sumiko Inaba during a flyweight bout.

"Pittsburgh was amazing from the first day we came here," da Silva said. "Everyone was cheering and enjoying the fight. I enjoyed my night in Pittsburgh and debut in the PFL."

da Silva last fought for the UFC in June 2025, which saw her lose her third straight fight against Wang Cong at UFC 316. During her UFC tenure, da Silva never quite lived up to the championship-level hype she came into the promotion with. Da Silva, who is 18-11 on her career, was 6-8 in the UFC.

During the fight with Inaba, da Silva dropped Inaba in the second round and nearly finished the fight. With the win, da Silva has put herself in line to challenge Dakota Ditcheva for the championship.

"I feel amazing," da Silva said. "I feel great to not be retired. I went through, I recovered myself and gave myself a change for my career. With all my years in martial arts, I can't finish like that. The PFL gave me another opportunity. It was a really great opportunity."

MOON TWP - Ethan Goss laments the time he spent away from his 10-month-old daughter. He invested 12 weeks training for his Professional Fighters League featherweight fight with Frederik Dupras Saturday at UPMC Events Center. When everything ended with a contested stoppage in the first round, it was draining for Goss.

"I spent 12 weeks only getting to see my daughter 30 minutes a day in the morning because I was gone every evening and on the weekends," Goss said. "I was driving to Pittsburgh and training at other gyms to be 100 percent for this. It's one of those curve balls life throws at you."

Dupras didn't have any questions about the stoppage. The Canadian fighter was on top and wrenching a guillotine choke. He said he felt Goss go unconscious.  Referee Chip Snider agreed and stopped the fight at the 2 minute, 46 mark of the first round.

Goss believes the replay shows his head popping out of the hold before Snider stopped the fight

“I didn’t see the fight yet, but the way I was feeling, I was feeling like he was panicking,” Dupras said. “His arm was kind of trapped. I was feeling he had no way to tap. … At one point, I felt like he was getting numb. I feel he went out.”

Goss, a former two-division champion at locally-based 247 Fighting Championships, believes the replay shows otherwise. He immediately protested the stoppage in the cage. After watching the fight back several times, Goss said that he planned to file an appeal with the Pennsylvania State commission to try and overturn the result to a no contest.

"If you watch the fight, as he went over the top of my head, I immediately caught the arm and my hands were in," Goss said. "He was being coached by the ref to be active because he wasn't doing anything. He warned him like two or three times that he was going to stand us up. He tried to pull the choke underneath. You aren't going to choke someone out when you have both hands in. I wasn't pulling my hands out because I didn't want to slip and give him the choke."

Dupras, who improved to 2-1 in the PFL and 12-8 in his career, has seen all three of his PFL fights end by submission. He felt like Goss had gone out. Dupras lost his debut fight by rear-naked choke to Gabriel Braga, but has bounced back with a pair of guillotine wins over Nathan Kelly and Goss. 

Goss felt like Dupras' corner helped influence the stoppage.

"As soon as I started kick my legs, they were yelling that I was tapping and I wasn't tapping," Goss said. "Obviously, I was kicking and fighting and fighting. Then when I went flat for that split second to get him to regrip or reangle his choke, they yelled, 'He's out. He's out'. They persuaded the ref to stop the fight. If I would've went flat and laid there for three seconds it would have been understandable. But it was a split second, a half second."

MOON TWP - The Pittsburgh area will see the return of an global MMA promotion for the first time since Sept. 16, 2017, Saturday night when the Professional Fighters League hosts a fight card at Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center. 

PFL officials said at the weigh-in Friday at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott that the event was sold out. Local fans will see plenty of talent from the area. Dalton Rosta, a Laurel graduate, is at the top of the list. He will compete in the co-main event against Impa Kasanganay.

The UFC last hosted a show at PPG Paints Arena nine years ago which saw Luke Rockhold defeat David Branch by second-round TKO in the main event. All three local fighters are coming off defeats in their last fight.

Rosta will be eager to bounce back after suffering his first-ever KO loss last April during the PFL Middleweight Tournament championship fight against Fabian Edwards. After two competitive rounds, Edwards, the brother of former UFC champion Leon Edwards, caught Rosta with a headkick to secure the win.

Rosta, who was previously on a three-fight winning streak in MMA, is 11-2 during his career. Rosta will have a difficult challenge against Kasangany, who has found a second life in the PFL. Kasanganay, a former UFC veteran best known for being on the receiving end of one of the most devastating knockouts in the promotion's history in 2020, has showed off his striking throughout his PFL tenure.

Kasanganay, who is 19-6 overall, is 9-3 during his time in the PFL. He set the PFL world on fire after he won a PFL challenger series fight before going on to win the 2023 PFL World light heavyweight championship.

Mt. Washington resident Xavier Rodela, who recently made his successful novice amateur debut with 247 Fighting Championships, signed to compete with the Future Fight League in their 135-pound bantamweight division.

The FFL is planning to hold an event March 21 in Harrisburg. According to Tapology, the FFL is based out of Ottawa, Canada. Rodela debuted with a second-round KO during the 247 MMA at the Venue 4 event in North Versailles.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Dalton Rosta is getting prepared for his next professional fight, which will be March 28 at Robert Morris University's UPMC Event Center. Rosta, a former middleweight title challenger in the Professional Fighters League, will take on former PFL champion and UFC veteran Impa Kasanganay in the co-main event.

Rosta, who attended Laurel High School, recently posted a picture of him training with the wrestlers at his high school program. Rosta, who is 11-2 in his career, is looking to bounce back from his first career knockout loss. 

Rosta was knocked out by a headkick against Fabian Edwards, who is the brother of former UFC champion Leon, during the PFL middleweight tournament championship fight last August. The loss was disappointing for Rosta after he avenged his first career loss by beating Aaron Jeffrey in a controversial decision in the semifinal.

Rosta last competed in the Pittsburgh area during a 247 Championships grappling event in October 2023. He beat Tanner Hall via decision in a grappling bout during Sprawl in the Burgh 2 at the Meadows Casino.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

NORTH VERSAILLES TWP -- Sticking on a college campus wasn’t going to work for Xavier Rodela. The Texas native moved to live with his family in Mount Washington in June of 2024 with the idea he would go to West Liberty (W.Va.) University to wrestle, pursue a degree and add some traditional structure to burgeoning ambitions of being a barber.

Rodela, 20, went 8-9 during his freshman season and chose to leave college to pursue his mixed martial career. 

“I didn’t want to go into debt,” Rodela said. “I wasn’t with school. I wanted to set my own schedule. I didn’t like school, but I knew I wanted to be a barber. I was just putting it off to wrestle.”

Rodela’s amateur MMA career got off to an electric start during the 247 Fighting Championships MMA Saturday night at the Venue 4 at Sunny Days Arena.

He knocked out 30-year-old Jacob Kennedy 26 seconds into the second round of a 140-pound novice amateur catchweight bout.

“I’ve been doing jiujitsu for about 14 years," Rodela said. “I’ve been doing kickboxing, all of that kind of stuff. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it, I was ready for this since I started. This wasn’t a three-month long camp like it was for him. It was a 14-year camp.”

A Familiar Feeling

Rodela had his dad, Randy Villarreal, in his corner for his fight. Villarreal, 39, fought 24 times professionally. He compiled an 11-13 career record and last fought in Fury FC 60 on April 24, 2022.

Villarreal didn’t come into fighting as a decorated wrestler like his son. Rodela was a two-time state champion wrestling in Texas. Villarreal’s background was in jiu jitsu.

“I think the hardest part for me, being a fighter myself, is reliving everything,” Villarreal said. “Everything he’s going through, I went through. In a sense, it kind of brings me relief.”

Rodela showed off his wrestling chops by earning a clean takedown toward the end of the first round. In the second round, Rodela ended a combo with a looping right that sat Kennedy down in the center of the cage.

“The combo that he hit, we worked at the whole camp and that was part of the game plan,” Villarreal said. “Showing the knee, faking the knee and following through with the check hook. He’s going to be dangerous.”

Rodela, who trains with Stout Pittsburgh, said having his dad in the corner is a bonus. His coach, Mike Wilkins, was also there to coach him.

​“That’s my support right there,” Rodela said. “Him, my mom and then coach Mike were in my corner today. That’s just something extra, I’m not going to lose in front of my dad.”

Back to work

Rodela promised during his in-cage interview after his fight to take over the Pittsburgh MMA scene. Villarreal said he feels like his son is a natural 125-pounder and his power will carry to a lighter weight class. Rodela didn’t have to cut any weight for the fight.

Until Rodela’s next fight, he is glad to have work to keep him busy while he trains. Rodela is the founder of Ascension Cutz.

“I love doing fades, taper fades and all that stuff,” Rodela said. “I’m good with that if you want to come and see me.”

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or X @J_oshRizzo.​

Karli Jo Thomas' third fight with the Cage Fury Fighting Championships didn't go quite as she planned. The Waynesburg women's wrestling coach and Albert Gallatin graduate lost to Paige Wilcox by submission in a strawweight bout at Cage Fury Fighting Championship 149 Saturday night in Atlantic City.

Thomas had a busy last eight months of 2025. She made her professional debut with CFFC in May, submitting Lateesha Mohl in the first round. Thomas followed that up with a third-round win by rear-naked choke in August. This time around, Thomas got caught in the first round by a debuting Wilcox.

​Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

NORTH VERSAILLES - Shawn Livingston is ready to move up to the advanced amateur division of MMA. It's hard to say that Livingston, who trains out of Stout PGH and is billed as being from Steubenville, Ohio, shouldn't be in line for the challenge of stiffer competition.

Livingston, a welterweight, has three wins since April, including two by decision. During the 247 Fighting Championships at the Venue 2 card, Livingston scored a well-timed takedown off a kick attempt by his opponent Andreas Angiolelli. Livingston used the sequence to sink in a rear-naked choke.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't use ground-and-pound," Livingston said. "With me going into advanced amateur, you're going to see some of that."

Here are the other results from the card:

• Amateur MMA bantamweight: Jess Hankin win by submission (arm triangle) over Travis Frye, Round 1 1:04
• Amateur MMA lightweight: Hunter Ferber win by submission (guillotine choke) over Ernie Switzer, Round 1 :34
• Grappling super fight: Stellan Mochan win by submission (calf slicer) over Icee Brown
• Grappling super fight: Tyler Tinsman win by submission (rear-naked choke) over Josh Hogans
• Professional MMA: Julian Flenory win by unanimous decision over Jeremy Riley, 30-27 (x3)