Defending Champ Antonio Carlos Jr. Out Of 2022 PFL Playoffs With Injury

Antonio “Shoeface” Carlos Jr.’s bid for a back-to-back Professional Fighters League (PFL) light heavyweight championship reign has suffered a devastating setback.

As reported by MMAFighting.com on Friday, July 8, he suffered an ACL injury that will need surgery, effectively forcing him out of the 2022 PFL playoffs set for August 5th.

Carlos Jr., who secured the No. 3 spot in the league’s 205-pound standings, was set to face the No. 3-ranked Omari Akhmedov in the postseason wars.

This is no doubt a heartbreaking development for Carlos Jr., who was gunning for his second-consecutive title run.

The 32-year-old joined PFL in the 2021 season and immediately left his mark submitting Tom Lawlor in just a round.

He would go on to defeat former champion Emiliano Sordi and Marthin Hamlet en route to the 2021 title and the league’s million-dollar grand prize.

In 2022, Carlos Jr. looked well on his way to another strong season as he submitted Delan Monte in just 29 seconds at PFL 1 back in April.

Carlos Jr. followed that up with a playoff-clinching decision win over Bruce Souto at PFL 4 to return to the postseason.

Stepping in for “Shoeface” will be Josh Silveria, who finished the regular season as the No. 5 seed.

A highly-touted prospect coming out of PFL’s maiden Challenger Series season, Silveria earned a spot on the main roster with a third-round knockout win over Mohamed Juma.

At PFL 4, Silveria showed exactly why he came in with a ton of hype after destroying Hamlet in the first round.

Silveria, the son of MMA icon and American Top Team coach Marcus “Conan” Silveria, is undefeated in nine professional bouts with eight of his wins coming by stoppage.

Prior to his arrival in PFL, Silveria was a two-division champion in LFA.

Silveria has the opportunity to advance to the finals by locking horns with Akhmedov at PFL 7, which takes place at the Hulu Theater of the Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 5.