Antônio Carlos Júnior

Antônio Carlos Coelho de Figueiredo Barbosa Júnior (born 16 March 1990), also known as Antônio Carlos Jr. and professionally by his nickname Cara de Sapato (as well as its English translation Shoeface),

Carlos Jr. is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight division in addition to Middleweight. A multiple time champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Júnior was World Cup Champion in 2006 (at blue junior) and 2x World Champion in 2010 (weight and absolute at brown belt). He is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Heavyweight tournament and the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter

On 26 February 2014, it was revealed that Carlos Jr. was selected to be a participant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. Cara de Sapato defeated Guilherme Viana via TKO (punches) to move into the Ultimate Fighter house, and become an official cast member.

Carlos Jr. was selected as the first pick (second overall) of coach Wanderlei Silva to be a part of Team Wanderlei. In his second Heavyweight fight of the season, Cara de Sapato was selected to fight Edgard Castaldelli Filho and won via knockout (punch) with only twelve seconds of fight in the first round. He was then scheduled to face Marcos Rogério de Lima for a spot in the final against Vitor Miranda He defeated Lima by submission (rear-naked choke).

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2014–2021)

Carlos Jr. made his promotional debut on 31 May 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale against Vitor Miranda to determine the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Heavyweight Tournament. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. made his light heavyweight debut against Patrick Cummins on 20 December 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway. He lost the one-sided fight by unanimous decision. After the defeat, he decided to move to the middleweight division for his next fight.

Carlos Jr. faced Eddie Gordon in a middleweight bout on 27 June 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70 He won the fight via submission in the third round.

Carlos Jr. faced Kevin Casey on 10 December 2015, at UFC Fight Night 80. The bout was deemed a No Contest just 11 seconds into the first round when Carlos Júnior accidentally poked Casey in both eyes and Casey was unable to continue.

Carlos Jr. next faced Dan Kelly on 20 March 2016, at UFC Fight Night 85. He lost the bout via TKO in the third round.

Carlos Jr. returned to face Leonardo Augusto Guimarães on 17 September 2016, at UFC Fight Night 94. He won the fight via submission in the third round.

Carlos Jr. faced Marvin Vettori on 30 December 2016, at UFC 207. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. faced Eric Spicely on 3 June 2017, at UFC 212. He won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round.

Carlos Jr. faced Jack Marshman on 28 October 2017, at UFC Fight Night 119. Carlos won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in round one.

Carlos Jr. faced Tim Boetsch on 14 April 2018, at UFC on Fox 29. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke in round one.

Carlos Jr. was expected to face Derek Brunson on 4 August 2018, at UFC 227. However, Brunson pulled out of the fight in early July citing an eye injury. In turn, Carlos Jr. was removed from the card entirely and is expected to be rescheduled for a future event. Subsequently, Carlos Jr. was quickly rescheduled was expected to face Elias Theodorou on 22 September 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. However, Carlos Jr. pulled out on 28 August due to injury. The pairing was expected to be left intact and was rescheduled for 8 December 2018, at UFC 231. On 13 September 2018, it was reported that Carlos Jr. withdrew from his bout with Theodorou yet again, citing a surgery is required on the injury that caused the cancellation of his first scheduled bout with Theodorou.

Carlos Jr. faced Ian Heinisch at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee on 18 May 2019. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. faced Uriah Hall on 14 September 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 16. He lost the fight via split decision.

Carlos Jr. was scheduled to face Brad Tavares on 14 March 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. However, Tavares was forced to pull out of the fight due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and he was replaced by Makhmud Muradov. In turn, Carlos Jr. suffered from an unspecified injury and the bout was cancelled from the event. The bout with Brad Tavares was rescheduled for 24 January 2021, at UFC 257. Carlos Jr. lost the fight via unanimous decision.

On 4 February 2021, it was announced that Carlos Jr. was released from his UFC contract.

Professional Fighters League

2021 Season On 6 March 2021, it was announced by Carlos Jr.'s management that he had signed to the Professional Fighters League and would be competing in the 2021 season. He made his PFL debut against Tom Lawlor on 29 April 2021, at PFL 2. He won the bout via guillotine choke in the first round.

Carlos Jr. faced Vinny Magalhães at PFL 5 on 17 June 2021. Halfway through round one, Carlos Jr. hit Magalhães with an accidental knee to the groin, rendering him unable to continue. This led to the bout being declared a no contest.

Carlos Jr. faced Emiliano Sordi in the Semifinals off the Light Heavyweight tournament on 27 August 2021, at PFL 9. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. faced Marthin Hamlet in the Finals of the Light Heavyweight tournament on 27 October 2021, at PFL 10. He won the bout via rear-naked choke in the first round, winning the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament and $1 million prize.

2022 Season Carlos Jr. faced Delan Monte on 20 April 2022, at PFL 1. He won 29 seconds into the bout via brabo choke.

Carlos Jr. faced Bruce Souto on 17 June 2022, at PFL 4. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. was scheduled to face Omari Akhmedov in the Semifinals off the Light Heavyweight tournament on 5 August 2022, at PFL 7. However, he suffered an ACL injury requiring surgery, sidelining him for the rest of the year.

2024 Season Carlos Jr. made his return against Simon Biyong on 12 April 2024 at PFL 2. He won the fight by a rear-naked choke submission.

Carlos Jr. next faced Alex Polizzi on 21 June 2024 at PFL 5, losing the bout via unanimous decision.

Carlos Jr. was scheduled to face Karl Albrektsson on 16 August 2024 at PFL 8. However the week of the bout, Albrektsson pulled out for unknown reasons.

2025 Tournament On 4 March 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Carlos Jr. joined the 2025 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament.

In the quarterfinal, Carlos Jr. faced Karl Moore on 1 May 2025, at PFL 4. He won the fight by split decision.

In the semifinals, Carlos Jr. faced Simeon Powell at PFL 7 on June 27, 2025. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In the finals, Carlos Jr. faced Sullivan Cauley on August 21, 2025, at PFL 10. He won the bout via submission in the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Heavyweight Tournament Winner Tied (Thales Leites, Rousimar Palhares & Demian Maia) for second most submissions in UFC Middleweight division history (5) Professional Fighters League 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Championship 2025 PFL Light Heavyweight Championship

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2012) 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2012) 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2012) 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2010 brown belt) 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2011 / 2010 brown belt, 2009 /purple belt, 2008 blue belt) 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile (2007) 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2008 purple belt, 2007 blue junior) 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship Juvenile (2007) 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Team Nationals (2008 / 2007)

Source:

Mixed martial arts record Win

Sullivan Cauley Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 10 (2025)

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Simeon Powell Decision (unanimous) PFL 7 (2025)

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Karl Moore Decision (split) PFL 4 (2025)

Orlando, Florida, United States Loss

Alex Polizzi Decision (unanimous) PFL 5 (2024)

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Simon Biyong Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 2 (2024)

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bruce Souto Decision (unanimous) PFL 4 (2022)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Delan Monte Submission (brabo choke) PFL 1 (2022)

Arlington, Texas, United States Win

Marthin Hamlet Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 10 (2021)

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Emiliano Sordi Decision (unanimous) PFL 9 (2021)

Hollywood, Florida, United States NC

Vinny Magalhães NC (accidental knee to groin) PFL 5 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Tom Lawlor Submission (guillotine choke) PFL 2 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Brad Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC 257

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Uriah Hall Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Ian Heinisch Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee

Rochester, New York, United States Win

Tim Boetsch Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje

Glendale, Arizona, United States Win

Jack Marshman Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Eric Spicely Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 212

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Marvin Vettori Decision (unanimous) UFC 207

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Leonardo Augusto Guimarães Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson

Hidalgo, Texas, United States Loss

Dan Kelly TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir

Brisbane, Australia NC

Kevin Casey NC (accidental eye poke) UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Eddie Gordon Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

Patrick Cummins Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway

Barueri, Brazil Win

Vitor Miranda Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fight Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Ednaldo Novaes Submission (armbar) Champion Fights 2

Salvador, Brazil Win

Gerônimo Oliveira Submission (arm-triangle choke) Imperium: MMA Pro 6

Feira de Santana, Brazil Win

Celivaldo da Silva Submission (arm-triangle choke) Nordeste MMA 1

Salvador, Brazil

Mixed martial arts exhibition record Win

Marcos Rogério de Lima Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 (airdate)

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Edgard Castaldelli Filho KO (punch) The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 (airdate)

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Guilherme Viana TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 (airdate)

São Paulo, Brazil