Going into UFC 142 there are many storylines, but there is one story being told that many people may not know about because the narrative is hidden on the first fight on the preliminary card.
Antonio Carvalho (13-4) is from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario but makes his home in Ajax. Ontario. He holds black belts in Jiu-Jitsu and Shotokan Karate and has a green belt in Judo. Not too shabby. That pretty much means he has a license to kick ass. This Canadian has been in the fight game since 2002 with a few of those years living and training in Japan while fighting for the Shooto promotion where it was baptism by fire.
In the beginning it was a culture shock. I spent almost two years of my life living there. That is probably the time where I grew as a person and a fighter the most. I definitely had my ups but I also had some downs there too. I was pretty high up at one point and all of a sudden I fell off pretty quickly but that just goes with human conditioning in general.
Things happen that’s life. There were injuries, losses and things that I was learning about myself in my mid twenties. That was the time I grew the most, as a person and now I don’t think I am the same fighter anymore. I think I’m a better fighter now, at least I hope I am.
That journey has led Antonio to UFC 142 in Brazil with a chance to make a name for himself in the featherweight division. The evolution of his game has been because of experience, hard work and being able to train with other talented Canadians in Mark Bocek and Sean Pierson to name a few. For this Ontario native, he knows that he brings more than just a few judo flips and karate kicks.
I’m just a guy who has been around for a while now. I’ve traveled all around the world and have fought some tough guys. I’ve competed in grappling, kickboxing and MMA, so because of that I think I bring a well-rounded game and I think I can put on entertaining fights regardless of who I fight.
The man they call “Pato” believes that in order to become a “well-rounded” fighter in the sport today, it’s not enough to go to a gym, pay a monthly fee and take some MMA classes. He believes in committing one’s self to one or two martial arts first.
I think it’s important to just learn a martial art from start to finish regardless of what it is, whether you do a traditional style or wrestling. I think you have to learn the system in and out. I don’t know if I agree with the concept of going into just a mixed martial arts class.
I think if you want to really learn Muay Thai you should train in Muay Thai. You should understand wrestling and learn the stance and the positioning that is specific to wrestling and once you understand everything you put it all together when you fight. I’m not a big fan of that concept of doing just mixed martial arts for the sake of wanting to be an MMA fighter. I think you need to learn Jiu-jitsu from scratch, learn how to box or kick box, I think you have to learn all the systems properly then you can sort of find that happy medium when you start fighting in mixed martial arts.
Even with years of experience and fighting for other big promotions around the world, Carvalho knows that getting a shot in the UFC could be a great way to cap a long career.
I’ve already accomplished way more than I thought I would in the sport to be honest. I think I have done pretty much everything that I thought I was going to do and a lot more. For me this is just the icing on the cake. I don’t know if there is anything else left that I could do. I’m sure if I put a few wins together and win a title in the UFC that would be huge but I’m not even thinking about that.
No matter how much experience one may have the mental game is always the difference. To finally get a shot in the “Big Show” and to fight in front of thousands of screaming Brazilians has to be a bit of a trip but for right now Carvalho believes that this is just another great opportunity.
I’m sure right now I’m thinking that this is just another fight, but maybe once I start walking towards the Octagon I might think a little differently. I don’t want to say that this is the final part of my career; maybe this is the beginning and the end at the same time. This is the goal I guess now that the UFC has featherweights and they have the best guys. I guess before I leave the sport I want to be a part of that in some way. The best way to describe it is I’m falling in love for the first time all over again.
Being a professional fighter for a living isn’t as glamorous as some make it out to be. It takes a toll on you physically and mentally. Like any job there are days where things are a grind. Except most of us have to get through it without inflicting any violence on someone. Antonio knows that the owness is on him to make sure that his body and mind are prepared for the biggest fight of his career.
I’m a pretty weathered guy even though I probably don’t have as many fights as I should have but there are a lot of injuries that sort of came with that. I feel a lot older than 32 but as of now I’m in good health in fact this is probably the healthiest I have been in a long time and I’m hoping my skills show out there. If I lose it’s all on me and I have nobody to blame but myself and that’s why I love this sport. So I’m going to go out there and put it all on the line and see what happens. That’s sort of my take on things.
It’s a brave thing for anyone on this UFC card that doesn’t have a Brazilian birth certificate. If you are not of the green and gold flag you are the enemy and that’s fine with Carvalho.
I’ve fought before and have had USA chants, and I’ve fought in Japan and had the whole “heel” vibe before. Maybe I can fool the fans a bit with my last name being very Portuguese but I don’t have a tan so that might work against me. I don’t know what to expect. I know they can be a pretty hostile crowd but I’m an under card fighter so who knows how packed the venue will be at that time. It won’t matter what I do they won’t like me regardless and that’s fine, I just hope they enjoy the fight.
Standing across from Carvalho on Saturday night will be Brazilian Felipe Arantes (13-4-0-2NC) whom many may not know too much about unless you do a little research. Google him and you will find they both have similar records. They are the same but different.
I think he’s a pretty well rounded guy. I think in some ways we are different in that he started doing Muay Thai and then picked up Jiu-Jitsu along the way, where I started with Judo and Jiu-jitsu and then got into kickboxing and I eventually started competing in professional kickboxing.
If anything we both bring a well-rounded game but I think it’s a matter of me swallowing my ego at some point and not trying to fight him at his strength. It’s going to be up to me when we are in there and I’m hoping I can find that one spot where he’s uncomfortable and hopefully I can keep him there long enough to put him away and just win the fight.
It’s always great to see a veteran of the sport finally get his UFC shot. What makes this story even more admiring is that he is a humble Canadian who hasn’t forgotten his Ontario roots. He has maple syrup running through his veins and even likes the game of hockey.
I loved playing road hockey with my buddies growing up. That is as close as I came to playing the game. I try to be a fan of most sports though. I try to be a good fan, but it’s tough when you live in Toronto because most of our teams aren’t very good, but I try and support the Toronto Maple Leafs as much as I can.
All right we won’t hold that against him, Toronto’s professional sports teams may suck but there must be something in the water in Ontario when it comes to producing talented MMA fighters.
We have always had something going on over here. We just haven’t had a venue to showcase a lot of these guys. That’s probably why it’s so shocking when people all of a sudden see a lot of good fighters coming out of Ontario. A lot of us have been here for years, it’s just because the sport wasn’t legal until recently, so we didn’t have a venue to showcase our skills.
A lot of us traveled far away to compete so we never had the hometown fans supporting us. A bunch of us have known each other for years almost a full decade so it’s nice to see us all starting to make it at this point. I’ve been training with guys like Mark Bocek and Sean Pierson, we have all known each other for a long time and it’s just nice to see that all the hard work we have put in for years is starting to pay off.
Maybe this fight doesn’t have the marquee of Aldo vs. Mendes or Johnson vs. Belfort, but this is a fight where we get to see a guy who gets to walk to the Octagon after years of blood, sweat and tears. It’s a moment and a shining example that hard work does pay off. One gets the sense that Carvalho will enjoy every minute of it…eh.
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