Antonio Carlos Junior wants to make it crystal clear he's no longer messing around. "Shoeface" is coming for everything he feels he deserves, and no elite-level competitor in MMA or the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community is safe.

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil Season 3 winner finished his 2016 campaign inside the UFC Octagon with back-to-back wins, then shook up the jiu-jitsu world in a huge way this past weekend at Submission Underground 3 (SUG 3) in Portland, Oregon. 

Carlos Junior stepped in on short notice to face Renzo Gracie standout Garry Tonon after Hector Lombard pulled out of the bout injured. But Carlos Junior didn't show up to SUG 3 simply to participate, he showed up to send a message.

"At this point in my career, I'm trying to have as much fun as possible and compete at the highest level," Carlos Junior told FloCombat. "Garry is a great competitor and I was happy to compete against him and beat him.

"I haven't competed in the grappling circuit in five years.  I have been focusing all of my energy toward MMA and becoming the best fighter that I can be.  The training and application for high level jiu-jitsu and MMA are very different. But I am a dog and I love to compete.  Also, I felt really good going back to my roots.  I was honored to compete for a high-level organization like SUG and compete against such a tough and crafty competitor like Garry Tonon."

After several short exchanges, Carlos Junior hit a flying triangle that immediately put Tonon in survival mode. The John Danaher "Death Squad" representative fought valiantly to escape, but the end result was a tap and a victory for the American Top Team fighter.


Jan 29, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Garry Tonon against Antonio Carlos Jr. at Roseland Theater. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Weiser-USA TODAY Sports

"When you fight, you have to be alert and ready for everything," Carlos Junior said. "You have to be able to seize the moment. That is what I always do, and that is what I did. I used to flying triangle people when I was competing in jiu-jitsu, so it came natural to me. Like I said, I have always been natural at it."

With the victory, Carlos Junior not only announced his return to competitive grappling, but he sent a loud message to the rest of the BJJ elite. He's holding an open invitation for anyone with a name who wants to get down to business, and Carlos Junior is tired of watching the most established names sit back in comfortably. 

Simply put: Anyone who wants a piece of "Shoeface" can come get some. Inside the cage or on the grappling mats--it just doesn't matter.

"I will compete against anybody. Nobody is safe," Carlos Junior said. "On my best day, I can beat anybody in the world. A lot of high-level grapplers only want to compete against MMA guys in grappling.  They should be ashamed of themselves.  They know most MMA guys aren't that good at grappling.  Me, I am a dog.  

"I will grapple against anybody in the world and I will fight anybody in the world. Luke Rockhold, [Michael] Bisping, Jon Jones--we can grapple at SUG or we can fight it the UFC.  Gordon Ryan, Keenan Cornelius, whoever, we can grapple or we can fight.  Pick your poison."

While Carlos Junior doesn't have a fight lined up on the current schedule, he's looking to get back to the UFC Octagon as soon as possible. The reason for his urgency is the mission he's currently on, and if Carlos Junior is successful, it will shine a bright light on a discipline he believes many are trying to write off.

"I have been practicing jiu-jitsu since I was 15," Carlos Junior said. "I was always natural and very comfortable doing jiu-jitsu and I'd like to expose it more in the UFC.  People think jiu-jitsu is dead in the UFC, but I am here to breathe life into MMA with jiu-jitsu.  I will breathe life into MMA by choking people out.

"I'm looking forward to fighting again. I love to compete.  There are a lot of great competitors out there, and this year they are all in my scope."



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