Carlos Prates has set multiple UFC records in just 8 fights, achieving the fastest accumulation of 7 knockout victories in promotional history, surpassing even heavyweights like Cain Velasquez. He has also recorded the fastest 14 knockdowns in just 17 incomplete rounds and earned 7 Performance of the Night bonuses faster than any fighter in UFC history, doing so in 8 fights compared to the typical 15. The post emphasizes that Prates knocked out two former UFC champions back-to-back, including finishing Della Maddalena with leg kicks, something rarely seen against elite competition. The analysis suggests that if Islam Makhachev defeats Garry, Prates, and Shavkat Rakhmonov, he would match or surpass Jon Jones as the greatest of all time.
Carlos Prates has rewritten the UFC record books in just eight promotional appearances, setting new marks for the fastest accumulation of seven knockout victories, fourteen knockdowns, and seven Performance of the Night bonuses in UFC history.
Prates, known as "The Nightmare," enters the record conversation as a 32-year-old Brazilian welterweight ranked fifth in the division with a professional record of 24-7. Fighting out of Vale Top Team, the six-foot-one southpaw-turned-switch striker carries a 78-inch reach and lands 3.77 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy, making him one of the most active and dangerous finishers in the 170-pound weight class. His seven knockout victories have come faster than any fighter in UFC history — a mark that eclipses even decorated heavyweights such as Cain Velasquez. His fourteen knockdowns arrived in just seventeen incomplete rounds, and his seven Performance of the Night bonuses came in eight fights, roughly half the number typically required to reach that milestone. Among his recent stoppages, Prates finished two former UFC champions in consecutive outings, including a rare leg-kick knockout of Ian Garry opponent Neil Magny — details that underscore the breadth and creativity of his finishing arsenal.
Why it matters
- Prates's record pace at welterweight puts him among the most statistically dominant finishers in UFC history regardless of weight class.
- At number five in the rankings, continued performances at this level position him as a genuine title contender in a loaded 170-pound division.
- The welterweight title picture is complicated further by champion Islam Makhachev, who holds a 28-1 record and currently sits atop the pound-for-pound rankings; analysis circulating suggests that victories over Garry, Prates, and third-ranked Shavkat Rakhmonov — the unbeaten Kazakh known as "Nomad" who stands six-foot-four with a 77-inch reach and a perfect 19-0 record — could elevate Makhachev into the conversation alongside Jon Jones as the greatest of all time.
- Rakhmonov's own undefeated run and elite grappling metrics, including 1.4 takedowns and 1.2 submission attempts per fifteen minutes, make that hypothetical gauntlet among the most formidable in the sport's history.
