Following loss, 'TUF: Brazil 3' winner Antonio Carlos Junior moving to middleweight

Antonio Carlos Junior

BARUERI, Brazil – For “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3? winner Antonio Carlos Junior, it looks like he’ll soon be fighting in his third weight class in just three octagon appearances.

Following a UFC Fight Night 58 decision loss to Patrick Cummins (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), Carlos Junior (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) announced he is planning a move to the 185-pound division.

“He deserved the win,” Carlos Junior said in his native Portuguese. “I will come back better, and I will drop to the middleweight division.”

The 24-year-old “Cara de Sapato” is a former world champion jiu-jitsu player who in 2013 turned his attention to MMA. At 6-2 Carlos Junior moved up to the heavyweight division for his chance to earn a UFC contract on “TUF: Brazil 3.” The gamble paid off, and he scored first-round stoppage wins over Guilherme Viana, Edgard Castaldelli Filho and Marcos Rogerio de Lima in exhibition contests before earning a decision victory over Vitor Miranda to claim the tournament title at UFC Fight Night 42 earlier this year.

Carlos Junior dropped to light heavyweight for Saturday’s event, which took place at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil. While he showed moments of promise in both the standup and grappling departments, he ultimately was overwhelmed in the contest and was handed a one-sided decision defeat, 30-27 on all three cards

After the loss, Carlos Junior said he required recent injections in both his shoulder and ribs in order to compete, though he insisted he wasn’t looking to make any excuses. Instead, he simply looks forward to soon competing as a middleweight.

“I couldn’t get the win; he is a tough guy,” Carlos Junior said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 58, check out the UFC Events section of the site.