Antonio
Carlos Jr. won’t be fighting on Friday night as originally
expected, but the Brazilian will remain an alternate for the
Professional Fighters League light heavyweight playoffs.
Carlos Jr. was slated to face Karl
Albrektsson at
PFL 8 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, but the
promotion recently announced that the 205-pound clash has been
removed from the card. However, “Cara de Sapato” will be available
to fill in should anything go awry for the four light heavyweight
semfinalists.
PFL 8 features semifinal bouts at both light heavyweight and
lightweight. The card is headlined by a rematch of a 2023 final, as
Impa
Kasanganay squares off against Joshua
Silveira at 205 pounds. The main draw airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at
9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream via ESPN+ beginning at
6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Carlos Jr. returned from a hiatus that lasted nearly two years for
the 2024 PFL season. After submitting Simon
Biyong at PFL 2, the 34-year-old
American Top Team representative was eliminated from the
postseason with a unanimous decision loss to Alex
Polizzi at PFL 5. “Cara de Sapato” captured the PFL light
heavyweight crown in 2021.