Tactical breakdown: Will Maddalena or Prates fight moving backward?

A detailed tactical analysis examines the central question of the Maddalena vs. Prates fight: whether either fighter will retreat, or if they'll clash in the center. Prates has dropped opponents 11 times in the UFC while moving forward and rarely fights going backward. Maddalena similarly builds his entire game on forward pressure. The analysis suggests that if they meet in the center, Maddalena faces danger because he absorbed over 50 clean head strikes from Belal Muhammad, while Prates only needs one. Maddalena's advantage lies in short-range combination boxing and counter-striking, where Prates struggles. Ian Garry succeeded against Prates by feeling the left straight on millimeter precision and maintaining distance with kicks and footwork. The breakdown concludes by favoring Maddalena, predicting he'll force Prates backward, land damage through volume striking, and secure a decision or TKO in rounds 3-4.