Islam Makhachev responded to Carlos Prates' recent victory by calling him 'Nutella cake' in a social media post. The comment appears to be Makhachev's reaction to Prates' knockout win and potentially sets up future trash talk between the two fighters. The post was duplicated across multiple channels for those unable to load the original content.
Islam Makhachev took a playful swipe at Carlos Prates on social media, dubbing the Brazilian contender "Nutella cake" following Prates' recent knockout victory.
Makhachev, 34, currently holds the welterweight championship and carries a record of 28-1-0, making him one of the sport's most dominant active fighters. The Russian southpaw, who trains out of Eagles MMA, lands 2.63 significant strikes per minute at a remarkable 58 percent accuracy while also threatening consistently on the ground with 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes. He is also ranked at the top of the pound-for-pound standings.
Prates, nicknamed "The Nightmare," enters the exchange on the back of a knockout win that seemingly drew the champion's attention. The Brazilian holds a 24-7-0 record and is ranked fifth in the welterweight division. Standing six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach — one of the longer wingspans in the weight class — the 32-year-old switch-hitter out of Vale Top Team is a volume striker, averaging 3.77 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy. He offers virtually no grappling threat, averaging just 0.21 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- Makhachev engaging publicly with a top-five welterweight suggests Prates is on the champion's radar.
- The stylistic contrast is stark: a wrestler-dominant champion against a long, high-output striker.
- A potential matchup would carry significant divisional stakes, with Prates positioned as a legitimate title challenger at number five in the rankings.
