Prates destroys Della Maddalena with third-round TKO at UFC Perth

Carlos Prates delivered a statement performance in Australia, stopping Jack Della Maddalena by TKO in the third round at UFC Perth to shake up the welterweight division.

Prates, known as "The Nightmare," came in ranked fifth at welterweight and systematically broke Della Maddalena down before finishing the bout in dramatic fashion. The 32-year-old Brazilian out of Vale Top Team carries a 24-7 record and brings a physical edge to every fight, standing six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach — nearly 198 centimeters — that allows him to control distance effectively. He connects on 55 percent of his significant strikes, a number that underscores how precise his output tends to be.

Della Maddalena entered the contest as the fourth-ranked welterweight and a top-15 pound-for-pound fighter, ranked 13th on that list. The 29-year-old Australian, fighting in front of his home crowd, boasts one of the division's more active striking outputs at 5.57 significant strikes landed per minute with 51 percent accuracy. Representing Scrappy MMA, Della Maddalena had built his reputation on high-volume, aggressive exchanges, but Prates was able to weather that pressure and impose his own game over three rounds before forcing the stoppage.

Why it matters

• Prates jumps past Della Maddalena in the welterweight pecking order, making a strong case for a top-four ranking
• Della Maddalena suffers his first loss at 29 years old, dropping to 18-4, and may need to rebuild before another title push
• Both fighters share a switch stance, making the stylistic chess match between them a genuine tactical battle that Prates ultimately solved
• The win positions Prates firmly in title contention conversations at 170 pounds