Carlos Prates showed bathroom mirror messages predicting Della Maddalena knockout

Carlos Prates revealed that his mental preparation for his welterweight bout with Jack Della Maddalena began long before fight night, sharing photos of handwritten affirmations he had been writing on his bathroom mirror for months. Messages including "I will knock out JDM," "I will beat JDM," and "I will become champion" covered the glass as part of a daily visualization ritual Prates credited as integral to his camp. He stated plainly that the fight started months ago, not on Saturday.

Prates, nicknamed "The Nightmare," carries a 24-7 record and is ranked fifth in the welterweight division at 32 years old. The Brazilian southpaw out of Vale Top Team stands six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach — one of the longer frames in the division — and posts a striking accuracy of 55 percent, landing 3.77 significant strikes per minute.

Della Maddalena enters ranked fourth at welterweight and sits thirteenth in the pound-for-pound standings, making him the higher-ranked man in the matchup. The 29-year-old Australian from Scrappy MMA stands five-foot-eleven with a 73-inch reach. He is one of the division's most active and accurate strikers, landing 5.57 significant strikes per minute at 51 percent accuracy, and like Prates operates out of a switch stance.

Why it matters

• A Prates victory would move him past Della Maddalena in the welterweight rankings and strengthen a title claim
• Both fighters are switch-stance strikers, setting up a technically complex stand-up contest
• Prates' longer reach of 78 inches compared to Della Maddalena's 73 inches could be a meaningful physical factor
• The mental preparation story adds context to how seriously Prates treated this assignment heading into fight week