Carlos Prates receives plaudits from UFC commentator amid Islam Makhachev title fight rumors

Carlos Prates and Islam Makhachev appear to be on a collision course, per many fans and experts in the MMA community.

Speaking of which, a longtime UFC play-by-play commentator has now chimed in on the possible clash between Prates and Makhachev for the latter's UFC welterweight championship. 

UFC commentator Jon Anik cites the title shot race between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales, lauds Prates's star power

Taking to their Anik Bros YouTube channel, UFC commentator Jon Anik and his brother Jason Anik weighed in on the UFC welterweight championship picture. Jon Anik indicated that Carlos Prates and the undefeated Michael Morales are the two frontrunners for the next title shot against reigning UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. 

He stated, "I think we can all agree, as MMA fans, it's a two-man race. Carlos Prates, Michael Morales." 

Anik acknowledged that Morales weighed in as the official backup/replacement fighter for the most recent UFC welterweight championship fight, which transpired last month. On that note, he asserted that weighing in as the backup for a title matchup doesn't automatically guarantee the next title shot. 

The MMA personality further indicated that Makhachev is coming off a unanimous decision win and title defense against Ian Machado Garry, the aforementioned championship fight from August 15. Ergo, he's likely to take some time off to heal from the grueling fight. 

That aside, Anik hailed Prates's star power and highlighted that the UFC would surely be interested in giving the Brazilian star a title shot. Heaping plaudits on the striking extraordinaire, he explained: 

"But yes, it would appear that is the direction they would go. Carlos Prates, with respect to Morales, is probably a top company superstar right now. So it's not surprising that they (UFC) would go in that direction." 

Jon Anik cites the danger Carlos Prates and Islam Makhachev pose in their potential UFC welterweight title fight

Carlos Prates last competed in May, stopping former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena via a terrifying leg kick-induced TKO. "The Nightmare" had, prior to that, knocked ex-UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards out cold last year.

Each of Prates's UFC victories has come via KO/TKO, with his lone UFC loss being a unanimous decision verdict against Ian Machado Garry last year, albeit he even almost KO'd Garry toward the end of that fight. 

Jon Anik made an allusion to the scary proposition any fighter would face in taking on Prates. He further implied that Prates, too, faces a genuine threat from Islam Makhachev. For context, Dagestan's Makhachev is beheld as one of the best grapplers in MMA, and many have predicted he'll dominate Prates on the mat. 

Anik said, "And, you know, it'll be interesting to see how Makhachev navigates that power for 25 minutes. But certainly the toughest matchup in the welterweight division for Carlos is Islam, and I would imagine that he would admit as much." 

Watch Jon Anik and Jason Anik discuss Carlos Prates's rumored clash against Islam Makhachev below (*comments at the 0:06-minute mark of the video):