Antonio Carlos Jr. on Familiar Ground, Seeks Second PFL Championship in Five Years

Antonio Carlos Jr. can probably smell his second Professional Fighters League tournament championship in five years at this point.

The American Top Team mainstay will meet Simeon Powell when their light heavyweight semifinal buoys PFL 2025 World Tournament 7 this Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. A date with either Phil Davis or Sullivan Cauley awaits the winner in the 205-pound final later this summer. Carlos Jr. has rattled off six victories across his past seven appearances, including a three-round split decision over SBG Ireland’s Karl Moore in the quarterfinals on May 1.

“There are some things we can improve, but I thought it was a good performance,” Carlos Jr. told Sherdog.com. “Karl is a very skilled guy who has already fought a lot of good people. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Of course, I would have preferred to win by finish, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. In the end, it was a good performance. I liked it.”

The once-beaten Powell now stands between Carlos Jr. and the tournament final. The 26-year-old Englishman has recorded back-to-back wins since he suffered his only professional setback—a technical knockout loss to Jakob Nedoh in the 2023 PFL Europe final. Powell, 26, last competed at 2025 PFL World Tournament 4, where he buried Karl Albrektsson with elbows and punches in the second round of their May 1 encounter.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the Semifinals of the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, June 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

“He’s really talented,” Carlos Jr. said. “He has very good striking. He’s big and knows how to use his long reach. This makes him dangerous. He uses his legs a lot in terms of movement, so it’s hard to get to him. I think it’s going to be very tough, but it’s interesting to look for holes in his game and use them in our favor.”

Carlos Jr. figures to have a definite advantage if the action spills onto the floor. A multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, he has secured 12 of his 17 career wins by submission.

“Jiu-jitsu is my biggest weapon, so I always want to take my opponents to the ground,” Carlos Jr. said. “It’s where I feel more comfortable. If we can land a good hand or have good striking exchanges, that’s great, but I will always take the best path for me. That’s why I always try to take it to the ground.”

Should he get past Powell, Carlos Jr. would shift his attention to the other semifinal, which pits Davis against Cauley.

“I think Phil is the favorite to get there,” he said. “He’s more experienced and mature. He has fought a lot of great opponents. I believe I’ll meet Phil, but we never know.”