Back Where It All Began
UFC Vegas 100 goes down at the Apex this Saturday and the matchmaking for its main event has laid a golden opportunity at the feet of Brazilian welterweight Carlos Prates.
“The Nightmare” has been rewarded for his scintillating introduction to life inside the Octagon by being paired with Neil Magny in a five-round fight and with Magny perched on the number 15 spot in the welterweight rankings, the reward that awaits Prates should he successfully navigate this challenge is abundantly clear.
A BIG left from Carlos Prates dropped 'em! 💥 #DWCS pic.twitter.com/ciMlRqQnd5
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 30, 2023
Prates’ first introduction to UFC fans came via an impressive walk-off KO finish over Mitch Ramirez on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2023. The lanky southpaw, a veteran of over 100 Muay Thai fights, displayed exceptional striking prowess throughout the bout and the ease with which he dispatched of the previously-unbeaten Ramirez not only convinced Dana White to hand him a UFC contract, but also found the UFC president comparing him to one of the greatest fighters of all time.
“Smooth, calm, violent, absolutely nasty combos” said White immediately afterwards. “In the first round, he landed 70 percent of his strikes. The UFC average is 44 percent. He came out in the second round and looked even better (and) finished the fight. This kid, he’s 17-6 now, he’s 30 years old, we could throw him right in the mix. He could fight anybody. The way he looked tonight, he looked like a prime, young, vintage Anderson Silva to me. This dude is absolutely in the UFC”.
Life In The Octagon
Prates was handed his official Octagon debut in February of this year against Trevin Giles, a veteran of 13 previous UFC fights. Giles had previously been in the mix with opponents such as Dricus Du Plessis, Gerald Meerschaert and Roman Dolidze, highlighting the disparity in experience between the pair.
Prates performed as if he had been fighting on the biggest stage his whole life and picked “The Problem” apart before flatlining him in the final minute of the second-round with the same piston-like straight left that had punched his ticket into the UFC five months earlier.
His second UFC appearance came in Louisville, Kentucky in June and saw him dominate Charles Radtke before putting him away with a devastating knee to the body in the dying embers of the opening round.
A much-needed step up in competition came at UFC 305 in August. Prates travelled to Perth, Western Australia to take on Li Jingliang, a 10-year UFC veteran who had never been knocked out in 28 professional appearances.
Prates displayed excellent composure and patience throughout against “The Leech” and all of the Brazilian’s best attributes were on display – the elite distance management, great head movement, a beautiful front-foot pivot and of course, that nuclear left hand.
Prates repeatedly put Li Jingliang on the canvas and waited patiently for him to return to his feet before getting right back to work. With a minute to go in round two the accumulative damage became too much for the Chinese fighter to withstand and one final left hook crumpled him to the mat to seal the biggest victory of Prates’ career to date.
The Logical Next Step
With three walk-off finishes and three performance of the night bonuses to his name already, Prates has marked himself out as the next entrant on the list of exceptional talents in the UFC’s welterweight division. With Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Machado Garry, Michael “Venom” Page and Leon Edwards all lying in wait at the top end of the division, there are some mouthwatering striking match-ups on the horizon for the Sao Paulo native should he navigate his next couple of challenges.
Neil Magny, making the walk to the Octagon for the 34th time this weekend, has been increasingly utilised as somewhat of a gatekeeper for the UFC in recent years. Fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry have been tasked with getting past “Haitian Sensation” before tackling the bigger names inside the welterweight rankings and it seems as though the UFC have handed Prates the same challenge this weekend.
Prates steps into the Octagon this weekend knowing that everything he ever dreamed of is waiting for him should he overcome Neil Magny on Saturday night.
