An in-depth tactical breakdown of Madalena vs. Prates focuses on the central question of who will be forced to fight backing up. Prates has dropped 11 opponents in the UFC while moving forward and needs to advance to land his powerful left straight. Madalena similarly relies on forward pressure and has rarely been seen retreating. The analysis notes that if they clash in the center, Madalena faces danger as he absorbed over 50 clean head strikes from Belal Muhammad, while Prates needs only one clean shot to finish fights. Madalena's advantage lies in short combination boxing and counter-punching, areas where Prates struggles when opponents pressure him closely. The post references how Ian Garry successfully worked with Prates by feeling his left straight on a millimeter level and maintaining safe distance control. Despite the puzzle, the analyst leans toward Madalena forcing Prates backward and winning by decision or TKO in rounds 3-4.
