UFC 207's Antonio Carlos Junior putting the focus on smart, healthy training

Antonio Carlos Junior is still relatively young in his MMA and UFC career, and he hopes the changes he’s making in his training camps assure he has a long fighting future ahead of him.

Carlos Junior (6-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) meets fellow middleweight Marvin Vettori (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) tonight at UFC 207. The preliminary-card bout airs on FS1 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas prior to the pay-per-view main card.

Although many fighters dish out the usual pre-bout banner about having the best camp of their life, Carlos Junior seems sincere. And that’s a direct result of the American Top Fighter training both smart and hard.

“Without a doubt, I have to train intelligently and not force things too much,” the 26-year-old Brazilian told MMAjunkie. “Also, not train too little. I have to listen to my body and communicate with my doctors. I’m always talking to my trainers and training partners to reach a consensus about how to best get ready.

“After my last fight, I was instructed to take a week or two off. That’s what I did. Then I got right back to training. I feel great, healthy. I train intelligently and evolve every single day.”

After that last fight, which resulted in a dominant submission win over Leonardo Augusto Leleco, Carlos Junior had extra motivation to get back to work. After a no-contest with Kevin Casey, who couldn’t continue after an accidental eye-poke, he suffered a TKO loss to Daniel Kelly – the first stoppage defeat of his three-and-a-half-year pro career.

For Carlos Junior, who “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3” in 2014 before a few subsequent drops in weight class, the successful rebound was proof that his in-camp changes were the right ones. Working with head coach Din Thomas and the likes of Kelson Pinto, Mike Brown, Conan Silveira, Katel Kubis, Rodolfo Vieira and current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at ATT, he’s now ready to capitalize.

“It’s great to be back to winning, especially after going through such a difficult period,” he said. “I’m still new to the sport. I was still finding myself. I was looking to find the best training locations and partners. I think I’ve found myself now. I’ve been feeling much more comfortable. I was very disappointed with my fight with Daniel Kelly. Unfortunately, there was some some setbacks.

“But now that’s in the past. It’s great to be winning again, showing the ‘Cara de Sapato’ who was the ‘TUF’ champion. I didn’t stop training after my last fight. So I’m feeling great. I can’t wait until UFC 207.”

As for his next foe, Vettori, Carlos Junior expects tonight’s bout to play out on the mat. And the world-champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt likes his chances there.

“Without a doubt it will be a tough fight,” he said. “He is young, strong and has good grappling. He likes to fight on the ground, as do I. I expect I’ll use my submission game. I have a lot of faith in it. I’ve been doing it for a very long time. I feel highly comfortable on the ground. But I have to have the to fully aware of what he brings.

“If I give my best, I’ll be victorious. I can’t wait to fight.”

For more on UFC 207, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.