{"id":607396,"date":"2026-04-15T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/607396\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:10:10","slug":"pedro-carvalho-rediscovers-love-for-mma-ahead-of-pfl-belfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/607396\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedro Carvalho rediscovers love for MMA ahead of PFL Belfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

A familiar face on the European mixed martial arts scene since he was a teenager, Portugal\u2019s Pedro Carvalho<\/a> remains best known to fans around the globe for his 11-fight stint in Bellator MMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Game\u201d takes another swing at his first Professional Fighters League<\/a> win when he meets Sergio Cossio<\/a> in a PFL Belfast<\/a> catchweight showcase on Thursday at the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland. Their confrontation will be contested at 165 pounds.<\/p>\n

Carvalho seemed to peak in Bellator. Wins over Daniel Crawford<\/a> and Luca Vitali<\/a> were followed by a first-round technical knockout of Derek Campos<\/a> and a face crank submission of Ultimate Fighting Championship<\/a> veteran Sam Sicilia<\/a>. By the time he earned a title shot against then-champion Patricio \u201cPitbull\u201d Freire<\/a> in 2020, Carvalho was on a six-fight winning streak. After a knockout loss to Freire, victories over Daniel Weichel<\/a> and Mads Burnell<\/a> were offset by losses to Jay-Jay Wilson<\/a>, Piotr Niedzielski<\/a>, Jeremy Kennedy<\/a> and Aaron Pico<\/a>. Carvalho\u2019s luck did not improve once he was brought into the PFL fold. Controversial defeats to Brendan Loughnane<\/a> and Kai Kamaka II led to a feeling of unease. Nevertheless, Carvalho looked within to find the silver linings.<\/p>\n

A high-stakes lightweight clash headlines PFL Belfast: Tune in Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRetrospectively, I can only feel happy about my career up to this point,\u201d he told Sherdog.com. \u201cI hope that things are even better going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, the setbacks against Loughnane and Kamaka were difficult to swallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt disillusioned with the sport,\u201d Carvalho admitted. \u201cBoth fights were very unfair. Against Loughnane, it was a bad stoppage. Even the referee apologized after the fight. Against Kamaka, I feel the judges\u2019 decision in his favor was poorly issued. I disconnected from the sport for a long time after that. I didn\u2019t want to have anything to do it. I wasn\u2019t in a good space, psychologically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI eventually resolved to get back to training, which is something I enjoy,\u201d he added. \u201cI love training. That\u2019s how I learned to love the sport again. I got back to a good place, a good mental space. My hunger to fight came back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Season of renewal<\/p>\n

Carvalho returned at a Warriors Night Championship show on Oct. 18, when he captured the promotion\u2019s vacant featherweight title with a first-round rear-naked choke submission of Damien Lapilus<\/a>. It was over in 2:10.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t necessarily have to make any corrections,\u201d Carvalho said. \u201cI\u2019ve come to make use of my natural talents in the best way possible. It\u2019s my priority now. I had spent so many years working tirelessly, trying to become world champion, but I was never employing the person I truly am. Beyond simply learning or correcting past mistakes, the key is to know how to use what I already have. I am the best version of myself now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cossio presents plenty of challenges. The 31-fight veteran owns a 19-11 record, with 15 finishes among those 19 victories. He struck gold previously in the LUX Fight League organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cI very much enjoy facing fighters like Cossio,\u201d Carvalho said. \u201cHe\u2019s someone who shows up to fight. He doesn\u2019t waste time. I think some opponents underestimated him but were surprised after not being able to submit him. Their gas ran out. He fights with a lot of heart, but I know that I\u2019m better than him in every area. I\u2019ll get ready for three rounds. I won\u2019t make the mistake of wasting my energy trying to submit him in vain, as happened to other guys who fought him. I believe I can get a finish within the first two rounds, but I will simply focus on winning and showcasing what I\u2019m capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caravalho continues to train in and represent his native Portugal, as well as Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a great connection with Ireland,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will feel like a home game. I am very proud that people see me as\u2014and call me\u2014Ireland\u2019s adoptive son. I look at Ireland with a lot of love and respect. They\u2019ve always supported me as one of their own. I\u2019m very thankful for that, and I\u2019ll represent them wherever I go. That\u2019s how it will be on fight night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carvalho, who turns 31 in June, feels positive about the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m focused on accomplishing much more in my 30s than I did in my 20s,\u201d he said. \u201cI already captured a belt. I\u2019ll continue my climb. I\u2019m excited to carve my path in the PFL.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A familiar face on the European mixed martial arts scene since he was a teenager, Portugal\u2019s Pedro Carvalho…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,153573,786,785,5492,295492,33722,295493,85,72908],"class_list":{"0":"post-607396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-carvalho","11":"tag-fighting","12":"tag-mma","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-pedro-carvalho","15":"tag-professional-fighters-league","16":"tag-sergio-cossio","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-ultimate-fighting-championship"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}