Already a PFL champion from its season-and-playoffs format, Antonio Carlos Junior now is also a World Tournament champion, putting away Sullivan Cauley to win the light heavyweight World Tournament title in Hollywood, Florida.
The two went toe-to-toe early, with each man scoring knockdowns in a wild opening round. Carlos Junior repeatedly landed heavy right hands and front kicks, while Cauley fired back with strong boxing to keep things even.
In round two, after a brief clash of heads, Carlos Junior stunned Cauley with straights and a head kick before taking the fight to the ground. From there, he secured back control and locked in a rear-naked choke to secure the tapout championship victory.
Antonio Carlos Junior Bests Sullivan Cauley For PFL World Tournament Title In Brawl
Shoeface absolutely wrecked Cauley. That was one of the best performances of the whole year. #PFLWorldTournament
Pretty good chance that was getting stopped in 90 seconds, but Shoeface wasn't gonna wait around to find out. Shoeface takes the LHW tournament title. Crazy fight while it lasted. #PFLWorldTournament
Antonio Carlos Jr. is one fight away now from taking home his second piece of PFL hardware, scoring a decision over Simeon Powell during PFL Chicago to advance to the light heavyweight finals of the PFL World Tournament.
Carlos Jr. used his experience and grappling to control the pace from the opening round, working Powell to the fence early and often, landing knees and searching for openings. While Powell attempted to keep the fight at range, Carlos Jr.’s clinch work and pressure, as well as his takedown attempts, prevented that.
Carlos Jr. was able to score his sole takedown of the fight in the second round, getting right to Powell’s back. Powell had some moments throughout the second and third rounds, but the fight was mostly Carlos Jr. imposing his will on the British fighter.
Even a late outburst from Powell wasn’t enough, as the judges all gave the nod to Carlos Jr.
Antonio Carlos Jr. Bests Simeon Powell To Advance To PFL World Tournament Finals
Bruh Shoeface is harming this man
What a crafty bastard. Stroke of genius when he went to the PFL#PFLWorldTournament
Simeon Powell is a fighter who has all the Skills but has 0 dog in him, Every time he would get hit he would Wintz while Shoeface would walk forward. I really thought he could be somebody but U cant teach toughness. He just got pieced up by a Jui Jitsu fighter. #PFL#MMATwitter
Has an MMA coach every walked away from his fighter and left him find his own way home???? I would curse out Simeon Powell till I got fired for that stunt….if you get outboxed by Shoeface AT 205, you are in wrong business
Carlos Jr., the 2021 PFL light heavyweight champion, advanced to tonight’s semifinal after defeating Karl Moore in May.
Powell’s loss to Jakob Nedoh in the finals of the 2023 PFL Europe light heavyweight tournament was the sole loss of his career prior to tonight. Powell advanced to tonight’s semifinal after finishing Karl Albrektsson in May.
With a UFC event on nearly every weekend in a year, it is easy to lose sight of the other fights going on in MMA. Every week there are big moments happening in the sport across the United States and all around the world.
As we move deeper into the new year, let’s look at four names who had exceptional years in MMA, with that success happening outside of the UFC cage. For this article, we selected three fighters that excelled in their respective promotion. Representing Bellator is AJ McKee Jr. For PFL, we picked Antonio Carlos Junior. And for RIZIN, you had to go with Hiromasa Ougikubo.
McKee Jr. Reaches Top Of The Bellator Mountain
(via Bellator MMA)
In July, AJ McKee Jr. saw himself facing Patricio Pitbull in the finals of a 16-man featherweight tournament. But his fight wasn’t just the culmination of that bout. In a sense, it was the conclusion to his 18-fight run up the Bellator ranks.
After a short amateur run, McKee Jr. signed with Bellator in 2015 and made his professional debut under their banner. He attained a flawless record through the year, finishing most of his opponents in a flashy fashion.
In 2019, he joined the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix—a bracket that, if successful, would crown him champion. After three finish wins in previous years in the bracket, he was matched this year against Pitbull, one of Bellator’s all-time greats.
McKee Jr. was able to catch Pitbull in just the second minute, putting on the submission after hurting him with a head kick. And with that, he became the new king of Bellator’s 145-pound division.
Four Wins And An Overdue Crowning Moment For Ougikubo
Hiromasa Ougikubo (RIZIN FF)
RIZIN bantamweight Hiromasa Ougikubo has long been recognized as a solid fighter. Viewers of Shooto Japan and RIZIN will know him as one of the stronger names at bantamweight. If not for that reason, many will recognize him from Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he scored three wins before being eliminated by Tim Elliott.
However, Ougikubo never had his real big moment as a fighter. He never earned a major championship, and he never won in a major main event.
In 2021, he showed his skills by winning RIZIN’s rigorous bantamweight tournament. To start the bracket, he defeated veterans Takeshi Kasugai and Takafumi Otsuka in June and September respectively.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, he beat two big challenges in one night. First, he fought to a unanimous decision against former UFC fighter Naoki Inoue, giving him his first loss since joining the promotion.
Later in the night, he avenged a loss against Kai Asakura with a thorough decision victory. The win came in the main event of RIZIN 33, which was the promotion’s biggest event of the year. More than a decade-and-a-half into his career, Ougikubo got his big moment in MMA.
Carlos Junior Bounces Back In Major Fashion
Image Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images
Unlike others on this list, Antonio Carlos Junior’s year actually started in the UFC. After losing a fight in January 2021 against Brad Tavares, Carlos Junior found himself off the promotion’s roster.
Carlos Junior secured a spot in the playoffs with his first fight, submitting fellow UFC alum Tom Lawlor in the first round with a guillotine choke.
He scored his biggest win of the year in the semi-finals, defeating 2019 champion Emiliano Sordi on scorecards. In October, he was put against tournament underdog Marthin Hamlet in the grand finals. That was a quick win for Carlos Junior, submitting him in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Carlos Junior started the year cut from the largest MMA promotion in the world. But he ended the year as a champion – and a millionaire.
