This is a critical fight for the 143-pound weight class and most likely has the winner in line for a shot at the title -- a title that is incidentally also on the line Friday.
Hioki, 23, fights out of Nagoya's "ALIVE" gym and with representatives such as Shooto legend and PRIDE veteran Daisuke "Amazon" Sugie, who recently competed in Abu Dhabi, it is mostly known for its grapplers.
However, Hioki has been raising eyebrows with his striking.
Previously he was renowned mainly as a skilful and aggressive grappler, but since a 2004 draw with Bao Quach (Pictures), Hioki has demonstrated his ever-growing striking arsenal. The fight against Quach was fairly lackluster but represented a significant turning point in the Iron Broomstick's career, as it was the first fight where he turned up the heat on the feet.
Since this draw he has proceeded to take Mark Hominick (Pictures)'s TKO featherweight title via a slick triangle choke, out-strike highly regarded jiu-jitsu stylist Jeff Curran (Pictures), stop Korean opponent Byon Sho Kim with a high kick and, most notably, win a second time in a tough fought decision against the very dangerous striker Hominick, this time whilst standing.
Carvalho is the only mixed martial artist to have defeated current Shooto 143-pound champion Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and holds a convincing ground-and-pound stoppage win over legend Rumina Sato (Pictures). Inoue emphatically avenged the loss last May and since then Carvalho has been inactive due to injury.
"Antonio is a really nice guy and he is very strong," Hioki told Sherdog.com. "I think it will be a great fight. My training has been very good for this fight. I'm very excited. Everyday I've been training all aspects of my game: kickboxing, wrestling, grappling and my cardio. I'm ready."
Where this fight is to take place is something of interest for both fans and perhaps even fighters alike. On paper, Carvalho looks to be the stronger striker, ending over half of his fights by technical knockout. But if Hioki's performances recently against strikers are anything to go by, it won't be an easy fight for either fighter. Hioki looks to be stronger on the ground -- half of his wins have come via submission -- but one must keep in mind that Carvalho holds a BJJ black belt and has never been submitted.
With Shooto's tradition of characters such as Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), "Wicky" Akiyo and in days gone by, Takanori Gomi (Pictures) and "KID" Yamamoto, perhaps you could imagine that for the soft-spoken Hioki, it would be hard to get noticed.
Starting his training eight years ago at ALIVE, Hioki scored third place in the All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships and soon after turned professional, upon which he participated in the 2003 rookie tournament. It was here, early in his career, where he was to encounter his first and only loss.
Then 19 years old, he faced the older and stronger Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) in a fight that turned out to be very violent for Hioki. Floored heavily numerous times by Takaya's accurate striking, Hioki showed heart, dusted himself off and stood up to the onslaught time and time again to make it to the final bell.
Since taking the beating against Takaya, Hioki (12-1-1) has been a regular fixture on the Shooto Gig Central cards, which are hosted in his hometown of Nagoya.
In Hioki's last fight in February he took on Hominick and won a decision in the Canadian's domain. It was a fight that left fighters bloodied, Hioki with a broken nose and fans surprised. Less than one year prior, Hioki convincingly beat Hominick on the ground and ended the fight with a few well placed hammer fists and a triangle.
With this in mind it was very surprising that Hioki chose to not attempt a takedown until the end of the five-round war. Even with a bloodied and damaged face, Hioki constantly pressed forward with his striking.
It's perhaps these qualities of perseverance and heart that has created the underground following for the "Broomstick."
The winner of this contest will be in the running to get a shot at the title, which will also be on the line Friday. Titleholder Lion Takeshi was rumored to fight Rumina Sato (Pictures), however the bout fell through due to an injury sustained by Sato during training. Stepping up is Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) (currently ranked No. 2 in the Shooto rankings) in a fight with "Lion" that has fans drooling.
"My goal is the Shooto title," Hioki said. "I want to fight either ‘Lion' or Tamura. I just want the title."
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