Professional Fighters League has made a late addition to its 2021 return campaign.
PFL signed former UFC veteran Antonio Carlos Junior to a contract this week, Carlos Junior's manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. Carlos Junior fought at middleweight in the UFC, but Abdelaziz said he would be competing as part of PFL's light heavyweight season this year.
"This guy should have never been fighting at middleweight," Abdelaziz said. "He should have been fighting all along at light heavyweight. I think he's going to be very good at light heavyweight."
Carlos Junior (10-5, 1 NC) won The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil at heavyweight in 2014. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist had a respectable 7-5 (1 NC) record in the UFC. Carlos Junior, 30, was on a three-fight losing streak before the UFC released him last month.
PFL, which has a season and playoffs structure, did not run any events in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carlos Junior will join the likes of UFC veterans Tom Lawlor, Cezar Ferreira and Jordan Johnson in the PFL light heavyweight season. Emiliano Sordi, the 2019 PFL light heavyweight champion, returns this year as well.