Antonio Carlos Jr. hasn?t been seen in action since UFC On Fox 29, where he defeated Tim Boetsch by first round submission.
The middleweight contender is looking forward to returning to the Octagon and he would like to battle Paulo Costa in that next fight.
?I?d love to fight him,? Carlos Jr. said to MMA Junkie. ?We?re both Brazilians. We both have some issues we need to solve. We were in the same house. I?m ?The Ultimate Fighter? champion. He lost inside the house, and now he?s like, ?Oh, I?m the guy of the moment.? That?s not what happened. I?d like to do this for the fans. I?d like to do this for the UFC because it looks like everybody in the rankings either has a fight or got an injury. I would be the only one he could fight, and for me it?s the same, so it would be great for me.?
Costa was originally supposed to headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night Fort Lauderdale card, but was replaced by Ronaldo Souza for unspecified reasons.
Carlos Jr., before learning that Costa was off the UFC Fight Night Fort Lauderdale card, is a firm believer that Costa is an overrated fighter.
?He?s doing good, but I think he?s overrated, and I?d like to show people what I?m saying,? Carlos Jr. said. ?That?s why I asked to fight him. He?s doing his job. He?s very good. He knocks people out, but I?d like to face him and show people he?s overrated. Now he?s going to fight Yoel Romero, he?s No. 2. Come on. I?m fighting for too long. I know I had some bad moments in the fight against Dan Kelly. Before that, it was everything good. But after that, I feel like people forgot me. I?m ?The Ultimate Fighter? champion. I submit people. I knocked people out inside the house. Beware.?
If the potential fight does come together, it would pit top 15 fighters against each other as Costa sits at #7 and Carlos Jr. is ranked #12.