This year's PFL World Championship began in violent fashion, with longtime Bellator contender Costello van Steenis landing a brutal knockout in the first round.
10 title fights are set to go down today inside the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where both this year's PFL Global and PFL MENA champions will be determined.
Before gold is dished out, a series of showcase bouts are opening proceedings. And while the cancellation of Jesus Pinedo's return dealt a blow to the lineup, a number of notable names are still featuring.
That included van Steenis, who has figured in Bellator middleweight title contention ever since getting the better of Fabian Edwards back in 2020.
He advanced his ambitions in a big way at the PFL World Championship, face-planting opponent Joao Dantas in just 48 seconds with a perfectly timed head kick.
Loading tweet...
During his celebrations, "The Spaniard" called for a shot at PFL middleweight gold and also pitched a clash with the current Bellator 185-pound kingpin, Johnny Eblen.
Van Steenis originally appeared in line for a shot at gold following a victory earlier this year. After having his charge toward the top stalled by Douglas Lima in 2023, the Dutch-born 32-year-old bounced back by submitting Gregory Babane in a clash branded a title eliminator this past May.
For whatever reason, that classification was forgotten about and van Steenis was further made to earn a potential opportunity this week in the Middle East.
Suffice to say, he did just that.