Antônio Arroyo

João Antônio Barbosa Arroyo (born 1 July 1989) is a Brazilian male mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background
After graduating with a business degree and working for a year as a marketing assistant, Arroyo decided to pursue MMA professionally, after practising martial arts through most of his youth.

Early career
Starting his career in 2014, Arroyo compiled a 7–2 record on the regional Brazilian scene, capturing the Salvaterra Marajó Fight Middleweight Championship in the process. After this, he was invited onto Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 1, where he won a unanimous decision against Diego Henrique da Silva. This win did not however earn him a UFC contract. Arroyo was invited back the next year to Dana White's Contender Series 20, where he faced Stephen Regman and winning the bout via arm-triangle choke in the second round. This time, Arroyo earned a UFC contract for his performance.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Arroyo was expected to make his promotional debut against Kevin Holland on 16 November 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré. However, in late September, promotion officials elected to remove Holland from the bout in favor of a matchup against Brendan Allen on 18 October 2019 at UFC on ESPN 6. Alessio Di Chirico was then expected to face Arroyo, however, it was announced on 24 October 2019 that Arroyo was scheduled to fight André Muniz instead. Arroyo lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Arroyo was scheduled to face Trevin Giles on 8 February 2020 at UFC 247. However Arroyo pulled out a day before the event due to medical issues and was replaced by James Krause.

Arroyo was expected to face Andreas Michailidis at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos on 14 November 2020. However, Michailidis withdrew on 23 October due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced Eryk Anders. At the weigh-ins, Anders weighed in at 187.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit. The bout was to proceed at catchweight, and Anders fined 20% of his purse, which would go to Arroyo. Anders eventually pulled out of the fight the next day as a consequence of the weigh-cut and the bout was canceled.

Arroyo, as a replacement for Antônio Braga Neto, faced Deron Winn on 19 December 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal at a catchweight of 196 lbs. Arroyo lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Arroyo was scheduled to face Tom Breese on 5 June 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. However the fight would be cancelled a few hours before it was to take place due to medical issues suffered by Breese.

Arroyo faced Joaquin Buckley on 18 September 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann. He lost the fight via knockout in round three.

After the loss, Arroyo was announced to no longer be a part of the UFC roster.

Post UFC
After winning via triangle choke on the Brazilian regional scene, Arroyo faced Evgeniy Ignatiev on August 26, 2022 at RCC 12. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Karate Combat
After debuting with Karate Combat and winning his first two bouts by technical knockout, Arroyo faced Sam Alvey on March 23, 2024 at Karate Combat Kickback 2 and the bout ended in a no contest as a result of an accidental headbutt which rendered Alvey unable to continue.

Arroyo is scheduled to face Sam Alvey in a rematch for the Karate Combat Heavyweight Championship on July 25, 2024 at Karate Combat 48.

Mixed martial arts

 * Salvaterra Marajó Fight
 * SMF Middleweight Championship (One time)