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UFC 212's Antonio Carlos Junior trusts his MMA evolution, believes he can beat anyone

[sigallery id=”VDQAaR4ozLRziPAjqdpoHX” title=”Junior def. Vettori” type=”sigallery”]

Antonio Carlos Junior was only three fights into his professional MMA career when he won the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” as a heavyweight.

For the 27-year-old grappling ace, that meant having most of his evolution in the sport take place on the big stage, often against more experienced fighters. The result was an initially inconsistent record, with two wins, two losses and a no-contest scattered throughout five UFC fights in three different weight divisions.

Things, however, have recently started looking up. Riding back-to-back octagon triumphs for the first time, Junior relies on his constantly evolving skill set to keep making strides.

“I think I’ve found myself and matured slowly in the event,” Junior told MMAjunkie. “My whole MMA career was in the UFC, which made it harder. I’ve been maturing and trying to get better in every aspect. I have a conviction that I can beat anyone. Only time and the fights will tell, but every day I’m learning, I’m changing what needs to be changed.

“I’m always open to changes. I know there are a lot of things I can improve on, and that’s what I’m seeking. Always learning, working on my flaws and my skills, so for sure you’re going to see an improved, more mature ‘Shoe Face’ with every fight. I know that I can beat anyone in the division on my best day. I just need to be prepared, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m training, maturing, and I’ll be ready for whoever’s in front of me.”

Junior (7-2-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) returns to action at next week’s UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, where he meets Eric Spicely (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in an FS1-televised preliminary card middleweight fight. This will be his first home country fight since a 2014 loss to Patrick Cummins at the 205-pound division.

Junior sees a tough opponent in Spicely, who’s rebounded from a loss to Sam Alvey in his UFC debut with back-to-back submissions of Thiago Santos and Alessando Di Chirico. He also sees some similarities, as they’re both grappling-based fighters who have, coincidentally, most recently defeated Italian competition.

With the help of his coaches and training partners at American Top Team, Junior believes he’ll be able to crack Spicely’s code.

“He’s a tough guy, for sure, but I believe I have many ways in which to beat him,” Junior said. “Everyone here has helped me out a lot. Din Thomas is very good at strategizing. We’ve been working together for the past two fights, and I’ve felt very good with him and Kelson (Pinto). This has made a big difference in my game.

“I think I’ve been fighting intelligently, I’ve been doing it right. We’ve been studying (Spicely’s) game a lot so we can get in there and have no surprises and make the most of the flaws he’s shown in his fights.”

It helps that going toe-to-toe in a grappling match doesn’t seem so worrisome for the jiu-jitsu world champion. At the end of the day, the confidence that he can beat Spicely is not really personal. After all, Junior feels the same way about basically everyone else in the UFC’s middleweight division.

“No one’s an easy win, ” Junior said. “We’re in the biggest promotion in the world. Everyone in there is a tough fight. But like I said: On my best day, I believe I can beat anyone. Whoever it is – it can be a top-15, a top-10, the champion. Whomever it is, I’ll be ready. Because I know that in there, everyone is tough.

“I want to evolve with each day, get a bigger winning streak. I want to go into my third now, then fourth, fifth, and then make it to the top. I certainly want to be champion.”

For more on UFC 212, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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