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Guilherme Soares (right) will collide with Boris Mbarga Atangana at PFL Lyon. | đź“·: PFL MMA
Guilherme Soares could not have picked a more advantageous time to link arms with the Professional Fighters League.
The 32-year-old Brazilian will carry a four-fight winning streak into his promotional debut when he confronts the unbeaten Boris Mbarga Atangana as part of the PFL Champions Series 4 undercard this Saturday at LDLC Arena in Lyon, France. Soares views the assignment as a seminal moment in his career, as the middleweight trades in familiarity for the chance to introduce himself to a much wider audience.
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“I’m not sure what will happen after this fight,” he told Sherdog.com. “I took this fight by going up to light heavyweight, with three weeks’ notice. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. After the fight, we’ll decide if I should stay [at 205 pounds] or go back down to middleweight next year. Ultimately, this next win is the first on my way to becoming a PFL champion.”
Soares’ first few steps with the organization figure to be wrought with peril. Atangana has finished all seven of his opponents, six of them inside one round. He last appeared at 2025 PFL Europe 3, where he needed a little more than two minutes to put away Jhony Gregory with punches on Sept. 26.
“Boris is very tough,” Soares said. “He has very heavy hands. He’s explosive and dangerous, especially at the beginning of every fight. He used to be a heavyweight, and he’s dropped down to light heavyweight. We know each other. I’ve seen him fight. He fought someone on my team, as well as another acquaintance of mine. I see him as a regular fighter. I don’t see that he does anything too different from what I’ve seen. I’m going into my 25th bout. I don’t see anything impressive. He’s tough and explosive with heavy hands, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen in the cage. It’s going to be a great fight. I expect with have a great standup fight—kickboxing with tiny gloves.”
Soares operates out of the Hybrid Training Center in Porto, Portugal, where he entrusts seasoned trainers and reliable stablemates with his preparation. He has rattled off consecutive victories against Marcelino Carvalho, Emile Vujakovic, Patryk Grabowski and Robin Roos. Soares laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Roos in his most recent outing under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner in September.
“I was already in a good rhythm,” he said. “Now, it’s just a matter of making some adjustments and making weight. I’ll show up ready to put on a beating.”
A former Full Contact Contender champion, Soares wants to move quickly through the PFL ranks. It all starts with Atangana.
“I expect a good win,” he said. “I never lose my drive during a fight. I know how to be cold and calculating. I’m strategic and know how to fight smart. I can’t take too many risks at first. I believe I’ll be able to control him for the first two minutes and then get into the rhythm of the fight. I believe in my hands. If they connect, he’s going down. I have a plan specifically for my hand to make contact with his chin.
“I’ll dominate Boris in every area,” Soares added. “It’s the start of my reign in the PFL. After this fight, everyone in our weight class will have eyes on me.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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