Cardinal Gibbons alum, top fighters will be at PFL MMA Finals at Hard Rock Live
South Florida via Hard Rock Live near Hollywood will once again host a major PFL MMA event.
On Thursday, inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Professional Fighters League presents a stellar card, highlighted by its tournament championships in the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
The preliminaries and main card will be broadcast/streamed on ESPN+.
This marks the seventh time PFL MMA is at Hard Rock Live (six of the seven for fight cards).
Four top fighters with local ties will be featured at Thursday’s event. Two of them will be vying for a PFL championship and $500,000.
Antonio Carlso Jr. in the light heavyweight division and Dalton Rosta in the middleweight division each reached the finals in PFL’s unique tournament format. Each went 2-0 in 2025, leading to this championship title (and money) opportunity.
Both train at prestigious and award winning American Top Team in (South Florida) Coconut Creek, which is about 15 miles from Hard Rock Live, making for a short trek from their homes to that MMA extravaganza.
Their teammate, middleweight Josh Silveira, will compete in the preliminaries. He is another quality fighter, reaching the PFL finals in 2023 and advancing to the PFL semifinals in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
PFL, which also owns Bellator MMA, is the second-largest MMA organization in Europe and in Central, South and North America.
On Thursday at nearby Hard Rock Live, the 32-year-old Silveira (14-5) will compete in a middleweight bout against Murad Ramazanov (12-3) of Makhachkala, Russia.
Here is my video interview with PFL MMA fighter Josh Silveira of American Top Team.
Born in Miami and residing in Deerfield Beach, Silveira won an FHSAA state wrestling title as senior for Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale. He wrestled collegiately for NCAA Division I North Carolina State University and NCAA Division I Arizona State University, earning a college degree, before transitioning to MMA. His father, Conan, is the co-founder and head coach of American Top Team.
Silveira, Carlos Jr. and Rosta have been training together (and with others) to prepare for Aug. 21.
Carlos Jr. won a PFL championship (and $1 million) in 2021; so he is vying for his second PFL title.
Here is my recent video interview with PFL MMA fighter Antonio Carlos Jr. of American Top Team.
Carlos Jr. (18-6) battles Sullivan Cauley (8-1) of Arizona for the championship in the light heavyweight division, the same division Carlos Jr. won in 2021. Carlos Jr. beat Karl Moore by slit decision and Simeon Powell by unanimous decision to advance to the 2025 finals.
Injuries hampered his efforts the following two seasons, and he worked he way back inot contention by 2025, quite the feat for this 36-year-old from Brazil.
Speaking of that country, during his recovery time, Carlos Jr. was a contestant on the reality show “Big Brother Brazil 2023.”
Realty type shows are in his wheelhouse.
Carlos Jr. won “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3” in 2014, earning a UFC contract to jumpstart his career.
Rosta, formerly with Bellator MMA, reached the 2025 finals in his first PFL MMA Tournament in a stacked middleweight division.
He will be in the main event on Aug. 21 at Hard Rock Live against Fabian Edwards (15-4) of Erdington, Birmingham, England via Kingston, Jamaica for the PFL Middleweight Champinship.
Here is my two-part video interview with PFL MMA fighter Dalton Rosta of American Top Team.
In a PFL quarterfinal, Rosta (11-1) defeated Sadibou Sy (17-9-2) from Universal Studios Orlando in Central Florida.
In the semfinals, he defeated Aaron Jeffery (16-6) to avenge his only loss, leading to this title opportunity on Thursday.
The 29-year-old from New Castle, Pennsylvania, is residing in South Florida. He wrestled collegiately for NCAA Division I Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and played football at NCAA Division I Youngstown State University in Ohio.
Within a 10-mile radius of American Top Team is Kill Cliff FC, a solid MMA training center under the direction of well respected Henri Hooft in Deerfield Beach.
Kill Cliff FC ‘s Impa Kasangany, a former PFL MMA champion, will be on Thursday’s card, too, at Hard Rock Live. The 31-year-old with an 18-6 record will fight Andrew Sanchez (14-8) of Shiloh, Illinois during the prelims.
Kasangany, who was born in Fort Lauderdale, played football for and earned a degree from NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, before turning his attentions to MMA.
For tickets: click here.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM.
