Cara de Sapato defeats rival in tight fight and advances to PFL semifinals in search of second title

Shoe Face in victory in the PFL. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @caradesapato

PFL Champion in 2021 and one of the most popular names in the organization in Brazil, Antonio Shoe Guy started his participation in the 2025 season on the right foot. On the night of last Thursday (1), the light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) from Paraíba made his debut in the tournament in his category with a victory over the Irishman Karl Moore and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.

Despite dominating most of the match, Shoe Face had to resist a final pressure imposed by Karl Moore. At the end of the three rounds, the Brazilian emerged victorious in a split decision by the judges (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

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As a result, Antonio Shoe Guy recovered from the defeat suffered against Alex Polizzi in June last year, which prevented him from advancing to the semifinals of that edition, and has now won six of his last seven fights. Now, the Brazilian will compete in the semifinals of the tournament against the British Simeon Powell, who knocked out and eliminated Karl Albrektsson. The duel will take place on June 27, in Chicago, United States.

Cara de Sapato resists pressure in the final stretch and advances to the semifinals

Antonio Shoe Guy started the fight by taking the reins and being the aggressor at first. In the middle of the exchange, the Brazilian managed to grab the leg of Karl Moore and took down his opponent, starting to work ground and pound from half guard. Just as the Irishman was trying to get up, with the help of the fence, Sapato ended up hitting him with an illegal knee to the face. After checking the move, the referee decided to give the Brazilian a verbal warning, without taking away any points.

Shoe Face spent the second round trying to take the fight to the ground, but came up against the good defense of Karl Moore. As a result, the fight remained tied to the fence for much of the round, until the Brazilian finally managed to get a takedown in the final stretch.

In the third and final round, Shoe Face was surprised by a hard left cross from Karl Moore. Tired, the Brazilian resisted one last pressure imposed by the Irishman and managed to defend himself until the end of the duel, taking victory in the judges' split decision.