Over this last weekend, Brazil’s own Carlos Prates earned an ultra-violent victory over another former undisputed champion, Jack Della Maddalena. Prates flew across the world to fight the former champion on his home soil. Lately, Prates has become a fan favorite because of his entertaining style and his post-fight cigarette smoking.
With knockout wins over two former world champions, many argue that he deserves to leapfrog into a title shot. However, his own teammate, Ian Machado Garry, is ahead of him in the title picture. Garry also handed Prates his only loss in the UFC. A fight that continues to age like fine wine for Garry, who used his jab, grappling, and footwork to outclass Prates in a decision win back in April of last year.
With such a violent performance, the reaction from the MMA community has been swift. People are impressed by what they saw and by how viciously the game plan was executed, with Prates using knees and elbows to slice through the guard of JDM and solidify himself as a legitimate contender in the welterweight division.
Carlos Prates Earns Massive Praise From MMA Legends After Brutal Perth Victory
reactions to the violent fight have continued to pour in from the MMA community. On the new UFC Deep Waters show on the Paramount+ YouTube channel, UFC legends Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier, and Din Thomas shared their thoughts on Perth’s main event.
“He’s scary good,” Masvidal told the group. “He does everything so well. He showed great wrestling defense and looked great on his feet. He reminds me of those soccer players who stay out late, smoke cigarettes, drink a little alcohol, but when you give them the ball, they score four goals.”
Poirier agreed, calling Carlos Prates “must-watch TV,” which is high praise coming from a man many consider one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history. While watching replays of Jack Della Maddalena getting dropped by leg kicks, Masvidal added, “Jack is no joke. If he can’t get up, it’s because his leg is sawed off.” Poirier also noted that Prates was finding openings between Jack’s high guard with highly effective knees.
Coach of multiple champions Ray Longo made his regularly scheduled appearance on the “Ray Longo Minute” segment of the Anik & Florian Podcast, hosted by UFC commentator Jon Anik and former title challenger and commentator Kenny Florian.
“This is the kind of guy who will keep you up at night as a coach,” Florian commented, and Longo agreed. “Planning for what he brings to the Octagon is difficult, and he’s even better than the last time we saw him.”
The longtime coach then pointed out the obvious issue in future matchups: “The problem, obviously, if you’re his coach, is facing a guy who can wrestle. That’s going to be an issue. His height is always going to give him a chance.”
He elaborated further: “You think Islam isn’t putting this guy on his back and keeping him there? If you match him up with the wrong guy, it’s going to be a problem, unfortunately.”
Longo compared a potential matchup with Islam to the recent middleweight title fight in which Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis with grappling to capture the title.
With Ian Machado Garry seemingly still in the title picture, perhaps a title eliminator between Prates and Michael Morales would help clarify who is next in line for a shot at the belt. After this brutal statement of a win and growing praise from some of the sport’s biggest names, the welterweight division can no longer ignore the rising Brazilian contender.
