CARVALHO TALKS PENDING BOUT WITH HIOKI

By Al Yu

Canada’s Antonio “Pato” Carvalho is one of the top 143-pound fighters in the world and holds wins over Rumina Sato and Takeshi Inoue. Currently recovering from knee surgery, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt looks to rebound from a tough loss and make his way back into title contention. Antonio recently spoke to MMAWeekly about his rematch with “Lion” Takeshi Inoue as well as his recent move to Japan. “Pato” returns to competition in Shooto on May 17th against Hatsu Hioki.

MMAWeekly: For the fans that don’t know a lot about you, please tell us a little about yourself.

Antonio Carvalho: Well, I was born in Canada then moved to Portugal when I was 9 years old. So I am Canadian [laughs]. My whole family is Portuguese and I have a very Portuguese name that could be confused for a Brazilian. I also speak Portuguese fluently.

I wanted to finish school so I chose to come back to Canada at 16 years of age. In 2000, I met my current teacher Shah Franco. He was an affiliate of Sylvio Behring from Brazil. So I began to train in both BJJ and Judo for a while and eventually stuck to BJJ only. That's when we formed the Franco\Behring team. Shah also happened to be a Shotokan Karate world champion and began training me in striking as well. So as I was training in BJJ, he would teach me about striking. So essentially, my two main styles are BJJ and Shotokan Karate. I eventually got my black belt from Prof. Sylvio Behring in BJJ after about 6 years of training.

MMAWeekly: You haven't fought since last May. Please tell the fans what you have been up to lately.

Antonio Carvalho: After my last fight, I went back to my usual summer job. I work with kids between the ages of 10 and 17 at a summer camp. Kids from all over the world come to this camp so they can learn English. They take two periods of English and then three periods of sport related activities. I actually worked in the office and taught several periods of martial arts.

MMAWeekly: Sounds rewarding.

Antonio Carvalho: It is a fun job and I keep myself in good shape and make decent money so I can pay for my expenses in the fall. After that I just try to compete in MMA as much as possible to make ends meet.

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