Rafael Xavier Makes All the Necessary Moves Ahead of PFL 2025 World Tournament 7

Rafael Xavier could find himself in a Professional Fighters League final if certain factors fall into place and break his way.

The 34-year-old Brazilian will toe the line against Karl Albrektsson in a light heavyweight alternate bout as part of the PFL 2025 World Tournament 7 undercard on Friday at Winstar Arena in Chicago. Xavier enters the cage with 11 finishes among his 13 career victories. In his path stands Albrektsson, a once highly regarded European prospect who has fallen on hard times. The Pancrase Gym-trained Swede has lost four of his last five fights.

“I wasn’t too familiar with Albrektsson, but I could see that he’s had experience against several tough opponents,” Xavier told Sherdog.com. “He’s going to face another tough guy in me. Whether he wants to strike or grapple, I’ll be ready. I trained hard to come home with this victory.”

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the Semifinals of the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, June 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

A win would move Xavier into position to fill in as a tournament finalist, should injury or other circumstances arise with the competitors who remain in the field. It would also allow him to put some distance between himself and a contentious split decision loss to current semifinalist Simeon Powell at Bellator Champions Series 5 in September. The fight went down at the OVO Wembley in London, not far from where Powell was raised.

“That fight, I believed I won it,” he said. “I don’t want to say the wrong thing here, but when you’re fighting in your opponent’s backyard, you have to win by knockout or submission. It’s tough when it’s up to the judges. The judges’ heads are like a baby’s bottom. You never know what will come out. Sometimes the rules aren’t clearly understood, and some fighters like to stall and simply control without any real damage. The important thing is for us to put on a show for the fans. It’s what they paid to see. I believe that I fought more aggressively even though I received an accidental headbutt, but that’s how our sport is.”

Ahead of his forthcoming clash with Albrektsson, Xavier left his home in Germany to train at the Porrada Training Center in Las Vegas. There, trusted confidants Ronny Markes and Marcelo Nunes assisted with his preparation.

“I came here to the U.S. due to a deficit in quality training partners,” Xavier said. “It’s good to get pushed and incentivized by a group of high-level guys. People saw the quality of my work. I’m going to show up even better. We trained in every facet of MMA. I miss home, but here, I’m completely focused on training for this next fight. Here, we breathe, eat and sleep training.”