After winning the Legacy Fighting Alliance grand prix in Brazil in
2021, Carlos
Leal Miranda made his way to the Professional Fighters League,
where he has gone farther than expected in a short period of
time.
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Miranda earned a spot on the PFL roster with a pair of victories on
the Challenger Series before upsetting two-time champion Ray Cooper
III on May 6. Now he finds himself in the PFL playoffs and one
fight away from competing for a $1 million prize. In an ideal
world, the Brazilian would square off against Rory
MacDonald in the PFL finals. Miranda faces Sadibou Sy
in one welterweight semifinal, while MacDonald meets Magomed
Umalatov in the other half of the bracket on Aug. 13.
“I would like to face MacDonald because he was a guy I always
watched fighting,” Miranda told Sherdog.com. “I can say I’m a fan.
I always watched his fights, and beating a guy I saw on TV would be
a great achievement.”
But the welterweight knows that he will have a tough opponent
ahead of him. Sy is coming off a victory over MacDonald himself,
and he has a height advantage against most opponents in the
division. However, it’s not an advantage that worries the Curitiba,
Brazil, native.
“My team and I will outline the correct strategy to neutralize his
reach advantage and get in the final,” Miranda said. “He is a very
tough opponent, like everyone else who is in the playoffs this
season. But I see myself with more weapons to win the fight.”
The prospect of a $1 million championship prize is entrenched in
Miranda’s mind, and he is excited about the chance to make a better
life for him and his family.
“I don’t even know exactly what I’m going to do… But I know one
thing: I’m going to give a better life for my family and for those
who were part of my story,” he said.