Charlotte — Despite being booed in his fight with Dovlet Yagshimuradov at PFL Charlotte, light heavyweight Simeon Powell was focused on the job at hand.
Powell improved to 13-2 with the split decision win, and is 4-1 over his last five fights. Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, Powell noted that he was “just focused on getting the job done” in the face of the crowd reaction.
“I’ve been around now for a long time now,” England’s Powell added. “I’m a vet.”
Explaining the lack of action on Friday, Powell noted that Yagshimuradov is “a very explosive counter-striker. So I knew it could potentially be like that. There’s going to be a lot of points where we’re twitching, and it looks like there’s not very much going on.”
“I’m a counter-striker, he’s a counter-striker. That’s what happened. He didn’t give much, I just gave more,” he added.
What Simeon Powell wants next is simple, and that’s a title shot. “I want the champion, I want Corey Anderson,” he exclaimed. “And if he’s not available and he wants to go to heavyweight, he should vacate, and then me and Shoeface [Antonio Carlos Jr.] can rematch.”
Former UFC star Antonio Carlos Junior, a tournament winner in the PFL, represents the lone loss in Powell’s last five fights. The pair met in June 2025, with “Shoeface” winning a unanimous decision. Carlos went on to win the PFL World Tournament later that year, and hasn’t competed since. Champ Corey Anderson, meanwhile, won the inaugural PFL light heavyweight title back in October with his own win over Yagshimuradov, but has floated the idea of a move to heavyweight, competing there once in the PFL prior to his 205lb title win.
Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Simeon Powell above.
