Antonio Carlos Junior advanced to the PFL light heavyweight semifinals with a decision victory over Karl Moore in May, but the fact that one judge scored in favor of his opponent raised his eyebrows.
Judge Marcel Varela gave Moore a 10-9 in rounds two and three for a 29-28 lead, while judges Jason Grenier and Troy Wincapaw disagreed with his score on the second round. “Shoeface” was happy to advance, but hopes for changes in the sport to avoid what he referred to as a wrong decision.
“I was kind of scared with the score of one of the judges,” Junior said. “When they said split decision I even laughed. I was like, ‘No way. Which fight did this judge watch?’ I was really worried about that.”
Junior felt he dominated the fight from start to finish, but really “slowed down” in the third, leading to what he considered a fair 29-28 call in his favor. Despite looking back at his win as a “positive result” and overall a good performance after almost a year away from the game, the Brazilian hopes North American athletic commissions work better on training judges.
Varela only worked in two fights that went the distance in 2025, according to record-keeping website MMA Decisions. Varela was more active between 2021 and 2023 with scores submitted in 58 decisions, but has judged only four times in the past 18 months.
“Of course, you want to finish fights, especially in a tournament where you’ll have a short period of time in between fights, but it’s such a high level,” Junior said. “We’re talking about high-level MMA, very experienced fighters, athletes that are great both technically and tactically, you know? Sometimes it’s hard [to finish], sometimes it’s a close fight. It’s important to have good judges, judges that are really dedicated to that, maybe even ex-fighters, because sometimes it looks like there’s people that have no idea what they’re doing. I was kind of scared, I’ll be honest with you.”
A PFL light heavyweight tournament champion in 2021, Junior now faces Simeon Powell on Friday at PFL 7 in Chicago. The American Top Team veteran guarantees he’s ready for 15 minutes of war, but anticipates a finish.
“He’s more of a striker, he has great striking and long reach, knows how to maintain the distance and move well and use his legs,” Junior said of Powell. “That makes him very dangerous. [The plan is] make him walk backwards. I’ve noticed he tends to box more and attack when he’s walking forward, so I won’t give him much space and allow him to grow in the fight. He’s not that experienced but has a good record, so we have to be smart. I’m confident we’ll catch him with a submission.”
If victorious Friday, “Shoeface” advances to the $500,000 final against the winner of the PFL 7 co-main event bout between Phil Davis and Sullivan Cauley.
“He comes as the favorite, there’s no way around that,” Junior said of Davis. “He was the Bellator champion, fought in the UFC. He’s 40 now, a bit older, but he’s still in great shape. He’s fought great guys and was superior, and got a knockout [in his last fight against Rob Wilkinson]. I think that logic says Phil Davis will win, but this is MMA. You never know what’s going to happen, but I think Phil Davis is coming from the other side [of the bracket].”
