Carlos Prates has achieved the fastest accumulation of seven knockout victories in UFC history, doing so in just eight fights. This surpasses heavyweight fighters like Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, who needed nine fights. Only 2.29% of UFC fighters (62 out of 2,710) have ever reached seven knockouts in the promotion. Prates also holds the record for fastest accumulation of 14 knockdowns and has earned seven Performance of the Night bonuses in eight fights, nearly twice as fast as the average 15-fight pace. The post discusses potential future matchups with Islam Makhachev and suggests that defeating fighters like Ian Garry, Prates, and Shavkat Rakhmonov would elevate Makhachev's legacy to rival Jon Jones.
Brazilian knockout artist Carlos Prates has cemented his place in UFC history, setting the record for the fastest accumulation of seven knockout victories in the promotion across just eight appearances.
That mark surpasses the previous benchmark set by heavyweight legends Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, both of whom needed nine fights to reach the same milestone. Velasquez, the 14-3 former heavyweight champion from the United States, remains one of the most decorated big men in UFC history, averaging an extraordinary 5.13 takedowns per 15 minutes and 6.37 significant strikes landed per minute across his career. The fact that Prates has outpaced him to seven stoppages underscores just how rare the welterweight's finishing rate truly is.
Prates has also set the UFC record for fastest accumulation of 14 knockdowns and earned seven Performance of the Night bonuses in those same eight fights — a pace that is nearly double the UFC average of one bonus per 15 fights.
To put the achievement in broader context, only 62 of the 2,710 fighters in UFC history — roughly 2.29 percent — have ever reached seven knockouts inside the promotion.
Why it matters
- Prates's finishing pace places him in historically elite company, well ahead of celebrated heavyweights despite competing at welterweight
- With Islam Makhachev, the undefeated welterweight champion ranked number one pound-for-pound at 28-1, now operating at 170 pounds, Prates represents one of the most dangerous potential opponents in the division
- Shavkat Rakhmonov, the third-ranked welterweight from Kazakhstan with a perfect 19-0 record, a six-foot-four frame, and 60 percent striking accuracy, looms as another high-profile collision course in a welterweight landscape suddenly brimming with finishing threats
- A run through elite opposition of that caliber would carry enormous legacy implications for any champion willing to take the fights
