Antonio Carlos Junior talks missing PFL playoff. ATT teammate Josh Silveira talks replacing him

Jim Varsallone

Video interview with 2021 PFL MMA lightheavyweight champ “Shoeface” Antonio Carlos Junior of American Top Team in Coconut Creek.

”Shoeface” is as tough as leather. Fighting with a leg injury, Carlos Junior still went 2-0 in the 2022 Professional Fighters League MMA regular season to qualify for the playoffs, but the injury worsened, forcing him to miss the playoffs. He will have surgery for a torn ACL on his right leg in his native Brazil, where he had successful left ACL knee surgery in 2020.

Carlos Junior, 32, is an Ultimate Fighter Brazil and UFC alumnus. He won the Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Heavyweight Tournament. He is tied with Thales Leites, Rousimar Palhares and Demian Maia for second most submission victories in UFC middleweight history (five).

Replacing Carlos Junior (15-5-2) in the PFL playoffs is a very familiar name, face, fighter in ATT teammate Josh Silveira. Carlos Junior and Silveira train together, help each other at ATT.

This is Silveira’s first foray with PFL, going 1-0 in the regular season. He withdrew from his PFL debut fight because of injury but later returned to score a first round victory, earning six points, which made him an alternate for the playoffs.

When Carlos Junior was forced out of the PFL semifinals, the unbeaten Silveira (9-0) got the call. He faces another familiar name, face, fighter — ATT teammate Omari “Wolverine” Akhmedov (23-7-1), thus still assuring someone from ATT will be in the PFL light heavyweight finals for a chance at the PFL title and a cool $1 million.

Silveira, 29, is the son of ATT co-founder and coach Marcus “Conan” Silveira. He wrestled for Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Barron Collier High School in Naples, North Carolina State University and Arizona State University.

Akhmedov, 34, is from Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia.

Carlos Junior, who expects a full recovery from his torn ACL, will be rooting for both. He plans on returning for the 2023 PFL regular season.

The PFL Playoffs in the light heavyweight division on Aug. 5 via ESPN feature a semifinal battle of (South Florida) American Top Team fighters with Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira.
The PFL Playoffs in the light heavyweight division on Aug. 5 via ESPN feature a semifinal battle of (South Florida) American Top Team fighters with Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira.

The PFL Playoffs will be broadcast throughout August on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN DePortes, beginning Friday with the lightweight and light heavyweight semifinals from the Hulu Theater in New York City.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes Card

PFL Semifinals

  • Light heavyweight Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira

  • Light heavyweight Robert Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte

  • Lightweight Anthony Pettis vs. Stevie Ray

  • Lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Alexander Martinez

ESPN+ (English and Spanish)

Prelims

  • Cory Hendricks vs. Marthin Hamlet

  • Marcelo Nunes vs. Adam Keresh

  • Brahyan Zurcher vs. Ricardo Jimenez

  • Elvin Espinosa vs. Corey Jackson

  • Alexei Pergande vs. Elvis Lebron

  • Lucas Barbosa vs. TBA

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