After knee surgery, Antonio Carlos Junior hopes Brad Tavares fight gets rebooked by end of year

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak isn’t affecting Antonio Carlos Junior as many other fighters, the Brazilian said.

That’s because Carlos Junior is currently recovering from a knee surgery that forced him out of a scheduled UFC on ESPN+ 28 fight vs. Makhmud Muradov in Brasilia.

“It actually doesn’t change much for me,” Carlos Junior told MMA Junkie. “I had knee surgery four weeks ago, and all I can do is physiotherapy, but I hope I can get back slowly to training in about a month.”

“I had torn my ACL during a sparring session. Recovery has been good. The doctor was excellent, and I can count on my physiotherapist, who is great.”

Carlos Junior (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) was initially scheduled to face Brad Tavares in Brasilia. Tavares pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Muradov, b after Carlos Junior suffered an injury of his own, the bout was subsequently scrapped from the card.

With ACL injuries usually taking at least six months for full recovery, Carlos Junior is looking to return by the end of 2020, and he still wants the Tavares matchup.

“Probably end of the year, November or December,” Carlos Junior said on his return. “I hope I can fight Brad Tavares; he’s a good fighter and is also in the rankings.”

One fighter who recently expressed interest in fighting Carlos Junior is Marvin Vettori, who wants to avenge his 2016 loss to him, but Carlos Junior isn’t too interested in running things back.

“I don’t think so,” Carlos Junior said on Vettori’s callout. “That kid is a good fighter, but he still has a lot to show if he wants to fight me again.”

After winning five straight from 2016 to 2018, Carlos Junior has since dropped back-to-back decisions to Ian Heinisch and, most recently, Uriah Hall last September, a fight he thinks he won.

But Carlos Junior feels primed to return to the win column once healthy and chalks those losses to circumstances outside of the octagon.

“A lot of things happened in my personal life that affected me in the fight, but now everything is going great,” Carlos Junior said. “Besides, I don’t think I lost my last fight.”