Carlos Prates has set multiple UFC records in just eight fights. He achieved seven knockout victories faster than anyone in UFC history, surpassing heavyweight fighters like Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez who needed nine fights. Prates accumulated 14 knockdowns in just 17 incomplete rounds, the highest average per 15 minutes of fight time in UFC history. He also earned seven Performance of the Night bonuses faster than anyone, needing only eight fights compared to the typical 15. The post notes that only 2.29% of UFC roster fighters (62 out of 2,710) have achieved seven knockouts. Prates recently knocked out two former UFC champions who had never been knocked out before, including finishing one with leg kicks. The analysis suggests Prates represents a historic challenge for Islam Makhachev.
Carlos Prates has cemented his place in UFC history through a run of finishing performances that have broken records typically associated with much longer careers.
The Brazilian welterweight, nicknamed "The Nightmare," enters the spotlight with a professional record of 24-7 and is currently ranked fifth in the welterweight division. Standing six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach, Prates fights out of Vale Top Team and competes out of a switch stance. At 32 years old, he lands 3.77 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy, and his takedown rate of 0.21 per 15 minutes underscores that his path to victory runs almost exclusively through striking.
Prates has now recorded seven knockout victories faster than any fighter in UFC history, reaching that milestone in just eight fights. Previous benchmarks were held by heavyweights Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez, who each needed nine fights to reach seven stoppages. He has also accumulated 14 knockdowns across only 17 incomplete rounds, the highest average knockdown rate per 15 minutes in UFC history. His finishing ability has translated directly to bonus checks: Prates earned seven Performance of the Night awards in just eight appearances, a pace that typically takes fighters around 15 bouts to match. For context, only 62 of the 2,710 fighters on the UFC roster — roughly 2.29 percent — have recorded seven knockouts in the promotion at all.
Among his recent victims were two former UFC champions who had never previously been finished, with one stopped by leg kicks alone.
Why it matters
- Prates now holds a historically rare finishing profile at a division where champion Islam Makhachev holds a 28-1 record and top-level grappling
- Makhachev, a southpaw standing five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach, averages 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes — a stark stylistic contrast to Prates's near-zero grappling output
- A potential matchup would pit the most prolific knockout artist in UFC welterweight history against the division's pound-for-pound elite champion
- The rankings gap — Prates at fifth, Makhachev as champion — places a title collision within realistic reach
