Carlos Leal is the PFL Playoffs fighter to watch
Carlos Leal has come a long way. The 29-year-old Brazilian who holds a 19-4 record and has fought for many organizations over the years looks to have found a home with the PFL.
Leal will look to go one step further this year and to do that he will have to face 2022 welterweight champion Sadibou Sy once again, hoping to avenge his only loss since 2014. Sy has been on a roll since winning the championship last year and will be looking for the same results at PFL 9.
Leal turned pro in 2012 and went 10-3 before joining his first organization in Bellator. Leal was local promotion Samurai FC's lightweight and featherweight champion and went on to win LFA's welterweight grand prix in 2021. Leal signed with the PFL in 2022, competing on PFL's Challenger Series and going 2-0 before joining the regular season format. Leal beat former champion Ray Cooper convincingly before losing to eventual champion Sy in the playoffs. This year, Leal is 2-0 with two knockouts against UFC vet David Zawada and 2022 finalist Dilano Taylor. Leal is now set to rematch Sy, with the winner getting a shot at the title and $1 million.
Carlos Leal is out to avenge his 2022 loss to champion Sadibou Sy
Sy hails from Stockholm, Sweden and trains out of Xtreme Couture, where the 36-year-old fighter has seemed to find his stride, winning his last six bouts and becoming the 2022 PFL welterweight champion. Sy was 9-6-2, losing in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 playoffs, but has since beaten the likes of former Bellator champion Rory MacDonald and PFL Challenger Series standout Dilano Taylor to win the 2022 season. This year, Sy has knocked out both of his opponents in highlight reel fashion, most recently dispatching Shane Mitchell by spinning wheel kick at PFL 6. Sy will look to repeat as champion in 2023, and has to get thru Leal again to do so.
Sy's strengths lay in his height and reach, which allowed him to get the better of Leal the first time out, but Leal has improved since then, and with both fighters finding finishes this year, a fight of the night could be in store for us to see who faces the winner of former champion Magomed Magomedkerimov and Solomon Renfro.
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