Antonio Carlos Junior, formerly known as the PFL light heavyweight champion, is eager to make his comeback later this year. Despite being embroiled in an ongoing investigation over a sexual harassment accusation that led to his exit from the 2022 season of Big Brother Brasil, Junior hasn’t lost his focus on his recovery.

Following a knee injury, Junior has not entered the octagon since then, but he asserts that he is now primed to resume his MMA career. When speaking with MMA Fighting, Junior stated that he was thrilled to be back to training and mentioned that he had sorely missed it.

Junior conceded that he had tried to maintain his rehabilitation while he was on the show. Junior explained that his physical therapist and coach had advised him to work out a bit during his time on Big Brother Brasil, so he wouldn’t have to start rehabbing from scratch when he left.

The once-undefeated fighter (15-5, 2 no-contest) has not lost a match since joining PFL in 2021 after parting ways with UFC. The three-fight skid ended with his back-to-back victories over Emiliano Sordi, Tom Lawlor, and Delan Monte. Junior said that he had approached PFL to schedule a match later this year, preferably on the year-end card.

The 2023 PFL Championship event is set to take place on December 8th in Dublin, Ireland, and Junior has informed his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, that he is prepared to represent Brazil in the competition.

While the promotion company has yet to announce when and where their pay-per-view card will take place in 2023, Junior noted that he wasn’t aware of it. He spent two months living in the Big Brother Brasil house but stated that he would participate in PFL’s first pay-per-view card if the date worked for him.