Impa
Kasanganay won’t dwell on his initial meeting with Joshua
Silveira going into their upcoming clash next weekend.
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Kasanganay and Silveira will headline
PFL 8 in a light heavyweight semifinal matchup on Aug. 16 at
the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The two previously met at
last season’s final in November 2023, when Kasanganay earned a
unanimous decision victory to win $1 million and rise to stardom as
the promotion’s light heavyweight champion.
However, Kasanganay is considering their upcoming clash a “new
hunt” rather than a rematch. Acknowledging his opponent’s skillset,
“Tshilobo” says he expects Silveira to have put the previous loss
behind him.
“I expect Josh to be the best version of himself. Josh is a solid
fighter; he’s smart and coached well. To me, it’s not a rematch.
It’s a whole new hunt. Last year is behind us. I always say burn
the ships, so, what title?” Kasanganay told Sherdog.com.
“For me, I could care less if it was Dovlet, Josh, or some guy down
the street, I take them out. I don’t care what their motivation is,
I don’t care what their discipline is. Aug. 16 I finish with my
hand raised, the job’s not finished. It’s a war path.”
Once known primarily for a viral KO loss against Joaquin
Buckley in the
UFC, Kasanganay has now won eight of his last nine outings. The
Congolese-American only dropped a close split decision against
Bellator
MMA middleweight champ Johnny
Eblen in a non-season bout this past April. He has since scored
back-to-back stoppage wins in the regular season to advance to the
PFL semifinals. While his upcoming clash marks his fourth outing of
the year within a six-month span, Kasanganay isn’t worn down by the
grind because he loves it so much.
“I’m grateful,” he said.”It’s a grind that you love so it’s not
like it’s overbearing. These are the things that you pray for. The
overall body of work, I look at it as I can always be better. I’m
challenged by this overall body of work because I know I can still
do so much better.”