Carlos Prates has achieved the fastest seven knockout victories in UFC history, accomplishing the feat in just 8 fights, surpassing heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez who did it in 9 fights. Out of 2,710 fighters who have competed in the UFC over 33 years, only 62 have recorded 7 knockouts total, representing just 2.29% of all fighters. Prates has also recorded the fastest 14 knockdowns in UFC history, achieving this in just 17 incomplete rounds, giving him the highest average knockdown rate per 15 minutes of fight time. Additionally, he earned 7 Performance of the Night bonuses faster than any fighter in UFC history, doing so in 8 fights compared to the average of 15 fights for other fighters. The post notes he has knocked out two former UFC champions who had never been knocked out before, and suggests his run represents one of the top 3 eight-fight stretches in UFC history.
Carlos Prates has carved his name into the UFC record books with a knockout streak that stands alone in the promotion's 33-year history, cementing his status as one of the most destructive finishers the sport has ever seen.
The 32-year-old Brazilian welterweight, known as "The Nightmare," holds a professional record of 24-7 and is currently ranked fifth in the division. Fighting out of Vale Top Team, Prates operates out of a switch stance and carries a 78-inch reach — among the longest in the welterweight class — which helps fuel a significant-strike output of 3.77 per minute. His finishing ability is his signature: he has accumulated seven UFC knockouts faster than any fighter in promotional history, reaching that mark in just eight fights. For context, heavyweight legends Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez previously held that record, each requiring nine fights to reach the same total.
Why it matters
- Out of 2,710 fighters to compete in the UFC, only 62 have recorded seven knockouts total — just 2.29 percent of the entire roster.
- Prates has recorded 14 knockdowns in only 17 incomplete rounds, the highest average knockdown rate per 15 minutes in UFC history.
- He has collected seven Performance of the Night bonuses in eight fights; the average UFC fighter takes 15 fights to reach that same number.
- Two of his knockout victims were former UFC champions who had never previously been stopped by strikes.
Prates sits fifth in the welterweight rankings, and the statistical case building around his first eight UFC appearances places that stretch among the most dominant short runs in the promotion's history. His combination of reach, switch-hitting striking volume, and elite finishing rate makes him a singular presence in a welterweight division that also features unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov and reigning champion Islam Makhachev at the top of the rankings.
