One-time PFL light heavyweight champion Antonio Carlos Junior is eyeing a return to MMA action later this year after leaving Big Brother Brasil due to alleged sexual harassment claims.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Former PFL light heavyweight champion Antonio Carlos Junior is eager to return to action later this year. Known as “Cara de Sapato,” he recently spent two months on this year’s season of Big Brother Brasil before departing from the show over an alleged sexual harassment incident. Carlos Junior has not fought in MMA since a knee injury forced him out of the 2022 season. The investigation into the alleged harassment case is ongoing, but he remains fully focused on his recovery.
“I’m super happy to be back to training,” Carlos Junior said in an interview. “I missed this so much. I was trying my best to continue my rehabilitation [on the show]. My physical therapist and coach told me, ‘OK, you’re going [to Big Brother Brasil], but you have to work there a little bit, so you’re not back to square one when you leave.’” Since leaving the UFC to join PFL in 2021, Junior has remained undefeated and ended a three-fight losing streak with victories over Emiliano Sordi, Tom Lawlor, and Delan Monte.
Carlos Junior has volunteered to fight later this year, possibly on the year-end card for the PFL Championship scheduled for Dec. 8 in Dublin, Ireland. He told his manager Ali Abdelaziz to inform PFL that he will be ready to represent Brazil in the organization. The company is expected to hold its first-ever pay-per-view card in 2023, with a date and location yet to be determined. Learning about these plans after his time in the Big Brother Brasil house, Carlos Junior mentioned the pay-per-view event as a possible option depending on the date.