New PFL Challenger Series debuts with The Next Big Thing: ATT’s Josh Silveira on fuboTV
He is the next big thing.
My video interview with South Florida’s own Josh Silveira of American Top Team.
Silveira recently signed with PFL MMA, and he will main event the first night of its inaugural PFL Challenger Series on Feb. 18 streaming on fuboTV from Universal Studios Orlando.
Silveira (7-0) is a double champion (middleweight and light heavyweight) from Legacy Fighting Alliance.
Prior to MMA, Silveira wrestled for Cardinal Gibbons High School under the direction of Coach Frank Pettineo in Fort Lauderdale. Silveira won an individual state title in helping the Chiefs win the state team title. His standout teammates the Morris twins (Jamal and Jamel) are now coaching the Cardinal Gibbons wrestling team.
Before crossing Alligator Alley to Cardinal Gibbons High School, Silveira wrestled at Baron Collier High School in Naples for Coach Joe Blassuci, where he also excelled. In college, he competed for North Carolina State and Arizona State University where he won a Pac-12 title and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Silveira’s longtime friend, Sal Guerriero, from rival St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale is another up-and-coming MMA fighter at ATT.
Silveira’s dad, Conan, is co-founder of the award-winning American Top Team and a pioneer of MMA. There are many top coaches, including Conan, and fighters at ATT in Coconut Creek.
Silveira, 29, is an up-and-comer in the world of MMA, and PFL MMA with its regular season, playoff and championship format lured him. He witnessed firsthand last year in South Florida, when his ATT teammate “Shoeface” Antonio Carlos Jr. advanced to the PFL MMA championships where he won the title and $1 million at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood.
Silveira helped Antonio train at ATT. In 2022, maybe they become respectful opponents in PFL MMA, vying for that same championship on ESPN and ESPN2.
First things first as Silveira is preparing for the main event of the PFL Challenger Series on Feb. 18.
Light Heavyweight Matchups - Feb. 18
Josh Silveira vs. Mohamed Juma
Alexander Poppeck vs. Taylor Johnson
Joao Paulo Fagundes vs. Bruce Souto
Simeon Powell vs. Karl Williams
Welterweight Matchups - Feb. 25
Jarrah Al Silawi vs. Michael Lilly
Dilano Taylor vs. Mark Martin
Carlos Leal vs. Socrates Pierre
Lucas Barbosa vs. Troy Green
PFL Challenger Series
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced that the inaugural PFL Challenger Series will be at Universal Studios in Orlando, beginning Friday, Feb. 18 and airing exclusively on Fubo Sports Network, the live, free-to-consumer TV network from sports-first live TV streaming platform fuboTV Inc.
The PFL Challenger Series is a platform in which MMA fighters can earn their way into the League and a chance at PFL gold; plus the $1 million that comes along with it.
The sport’s most innovative company has expanded the opportunity for fighters of all experience levels to gain entry into the PFL, where they will compete with a global roster of top-tier fighters in hopes of becoming the next million-dollar champion.
Fighters from around the world will compete each week for a PFL contract that will either put them in the 2022 Regular Season or set them on a development path with the League in hopes of joining a future season.
Out of the more than 500 applicants, there will be eight fighters selected - one each week - to join the fastest growing organization in combat sports.
“The Challenger Series is a first-of-its-kind MMA competition where fighters from all backgrounds and experiences get a shot to prove themselves in front of a panel of combat sports legends and global icons,” Ray Sefo, president of Fighter Operations of PFL, said in a release.
“I’m excited to get to Orlando to evaluate these talented athletes who will put it all on the line to live out their dreams of becoming a world champion.”
PFL Challenger Series Fighters
The inaugural PFL Challenger Series event will feature the 205-pound light heavyweight division and will include LFA double champion Josh Silveira, one of the most highly sought-after prospects in the sport.
Silveira (7-0), is the son of MMA pioneer and American Top Team co-founder Conan Silveira and was coveted by every major MMA organization in the world. He chose the Challenger Series to showcase his abilities and to have the opportunity to fight in the 2022 PFL Season.
Germany’s Alexander Poppeck (12-3) is another fighter poised to make a run at a PFL roster spot. The Munich native enters the Challenger Series on a three-fight win streak that includes a pair of first round TKO victories. “Ironside” specializes in kickboxing and Muay Thai.
Mohamed Juma hails from the newest country in the world, South Sudan, and he is looking to put his nation on the MMA map. Juma (8-2) enters the Challenger series on an eight-fight win streak. The South Sudanese power puncher will be making his American debut.
Rounding out the division are American Taylor Johnson (7-3), rising British star Simeon Powell (4-0) and top Brazilian prospects Joao Paulo Fagundes (7-0) and Bruce Souto (14-3), who is riding an eight-fight win streak.
PFL Fan Interaction
Viewers watching the PFL Challenger Series can also interact with the live competition through fuboTV’s popular predictive, free-to-play games.
During the bouts, fans can answer predictive questions about the action all on one screen using their remote control.
Fubo Sportsbook, now live in Iowa and Arizona, is also the exclusive gambling sponsor of the PFL Challenger Series.
Fubo Sports Network is fuboTV’s linear TV network dedicated to featuring sports stories on and off the field.
Fans can stream Fubo Sports Network for free on LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio Channels, Sports on Tubi, Plex, Hisense Smart TVs, and XUMO or as part of fuboTV’s subscription packages of 100+ sports, news and entertainment channels.
About PFL
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league. PFL is the No.2 MMA company worldwide and the only with a sports-season format where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs and championship.
PFL is prime-time in the United States on ESPN and ESPN+ and was broadcast and streamed live worldwide last year to 160 countries with partners including RMC Sport, FPT, Sky Sport, and more.
The PFL roster is world-class, with 25-percent of PFL fighters independently ranked in the top 25 in the world.
The PFL proprietary SmartCage data and analytics platform powers real-time betting and provides next-gen viewing experience.
PFL has more than two-dozen blue-chip brand sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, IBM, GEICO, DraftKings, Bose, Socios.com, Air Force Reserve, US Marine Corps, and more. PFL is backed by major investors including Ares Capital, Luxor Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Swan Ventures, Knighthead, Legends, and several NBA, MLB and NHL team owners.
MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with 600-million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demo of any sport and true global revenue streams.
PFLmma.com;
Instagram (@PFLmma);
Twitter (@PFLMMA);
Facebook (/PFLmma)
About Fubo Sports Network
Available on 75-million devices, Fubo Sports Network is the live, free-to-consumer TV network featuring sports stories on and off the field.
Launched by live TV streaming platform fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO) in September 2019, Fubo Sports Network airs live sports, award-winning original programming such as No Chill with Gilbert Arenas and Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. and Hatch and partner content from Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, Stadium, USA TODAY, Flex Fight, World Poker Tour, and BeIN Sports Xtra, among others.
Stream for free on LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio Channels, Sports on Tubi, Plex, Hisense Smart TVs, and XUMO or as part of fuboTV’s subscription packages of 100+ sports, news and entertainment channels.
My MMA and Pro Wrestling Talk on the Web and Social Media
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/
Twitter: @jimmyv3
YouTube: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingSouthFlorida/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWE-WrestleMania-28-Miami-241160769255279/
This story was originally published January 24, 2022 at 3:04 PM.
