BREAKING: Antonio Carlos Jr. is out of his
Light Heavyweight Semifinals bout. #5 in the standings @jmdasilv
enters the
#PFLPlayoffs against ATT teammate Omari Akhmedov! pic.twitter.com/KsqGUks1gc— PFL (@PFLMMA)
July 8, 2022
The Professional Fighters League light heavyweight
bracket has just experienced a massive shakeup.
Per the promotion
on Friday morning, Antonio
Carlos Jr. will no longer be vying for the million-dollar prize
in the 205-pound division. In his own statement on Instagram, Carlos
Jr. explained that he suffered a knee injury that will require
surgery and keep him out action for quite some time. In his stead
will be fellow American Top Team teammate, unbeaten Joshua
Silveira (9-0), who will be squaring off with Omari
Akhmedov (23-7-1), with the latter a member of ATT as well. The
two light heavyweights will square off at
PFL 7: 2022 Playoffs on Aug. 5 at the Hulu Theater in Madison
Square Garden in New York.
Advertisement
Winner of the 2021 PFL season, Carlos Jr. looked to make another
run at the $1 million check. In his two appearances this year,
“Cara de Sapato” tapped Delan Monte
in under 30 seconds and then overcame Bruce Souto
by decision to earn nine points and the no. 3 seed. His
replacement, Silveira, has yet to taste defeat as a pro. Silveira
ended his season as the fifth seed, making the most of his lone PFL
tourney outing by scorching Marthin
Hamlet in the first round to pick up six points. Silveira
initially joined the PFL ranks as a member of the Challenger
Series, and a win in a foul-filled match over Mohamed
Juma did not earn him a spot on the roster. A replacement
opportunity against Hamlet, and now a replacement for Carlos Jr.,
will put Silveira two wins away from claiming a million dollars and
a major title.
Akhmedov’s season went swimmingly, as he racked up 11 points by
knocking out Viktor
Pesta and then putting Teodoras
Aukstuolis to sleep with an arm-triangle choke. The two
stoppages were not enough to grant him a top seed, as Rob
Wilkinson did so quicker to snag that no. 1 seed position. The
two victories righted the ship for the Russian, as he competed for
PFL in the 2021 Championships and suffered a knockout to Jordan
Young in his promotional debut. The longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor left
its roster in 2021 to seek out the prize atop the PFL mountain,
amassing a UFC record of 9-5-1 with at one time an unbeaten streak
of six straight.
The first of three playoff events, PFL 7: 2022 Playoffs, will take
place on Aug. 6 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. The
New York-based event will place lightweights and light heavyweight
in contention for the finals that will likely be held in November.
Atop the card is a lightweight rematch between Anthony
Pettis and Stevie Ray,
with the latter submitting Pettis at the beginning of July. The
match between Akhmedov and Silveira will serve as the co-main event
for this ESPN show.
PFL 7 Lineup:
Anthony
Pettis vs. Stevie Ray –
lightweight semifinal
Omari
Akhmedov vs. Joshua
Silveira – light heavyweight semifinal
Olivier
Aubin-Mercier vs. Alexander
Martinez – lightweight semifinal
Rob
Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte
– light heavyweight semifinal
Cory
Hendricks vs. Marthin
Hamlet – light heavyweight
Marcelo
Nunes vs. Adam Keresh
– light heavyweight
Brahyan
Zurcher vs. Ricardo
Jimenez – lightweight
Elvin
Espinoza vs. Corey
Jackson – lightweight
Alexei
Pergande vs. Elvis
Lebron Quiles – lightweight
Lucas
Barbosa vs. TBA – lightweight