Josh Silveira wants all of the smoke.
Silveira returns to action tonight (Fri., June 21, 2024) at PFL 5 against 2022 PFL Light Heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson in hopes of securing a spot in the 2024 PFL playoffs, which will take place in the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Silveira is coming off a first-round, 74-second finish of 2022 PFL Welterweight champion Sadibou Sy at PFL 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sy dislocated his thumb, resulting in a TKO.
The 2024 Professional Fighters League Light Heavyweight division is the most stacked it has ever been, as five PFL champions reside in it: Wilkinson (2022), Sy (2022), Antonio Carlos Jr. (2021), Impa Kasaganay (2023), and Jakob Nedoh (2023—European).
Silveira hopes to beat two more, leading him to a $1,000,00 championship.
“Life works in a weird way, and God works in strange ways. Last year wasn’t my year to win it, but maybe it’s this year for me to go beat previous champions- do something that hasn’t been done before,” Silveira said during PFL 5 media day. “Just imagine, I beat four previous champions to win the belt. If God would have told me that last year, I would have been calm about losing the finals. We don’t know what the future holds, but that’s what the direction looks like. Sadibou was a champion, even though it was 170 lbs. Rob is a champion. We’ll find out Friday night if I have to fight any more champions.”
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Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Silveira told MMAMania.com he really hopes to face Carlos Jr. in the finals. Carlos Jr. is Silveria’s main training partner and friend, and his dad, who co-founded the iconic American Top Team, is their head coach.
The 30-year-old is second in the PFL Light Heavyweight standings with six points.
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