UFC fighters analyze Carlos Prates' devastating knee strikes against Jack Della Maddalena

Multiple UFC fighters provided detailed breakdowns of Carlos Prates' knee strike technique in his victory over Jack Della Maddalena. Cory Sandhagen noted that Prates' left knee was the game-changing attack, describing how he generates exceptional power by springing upward rather than stepping, and how he converted the knee threat into high kicks by wrapping over the head when Della Maddalena switched to southpaw. Sandhagen also praised Prates' use of elbows to break through Della Maddalena's tight guard. Jorge Masvidal called it some of the best knee work he'd seen in a long time, comparing Prates' performance to Mortal Kombat and noting how the knee threat completely shut down Della Maddalena's close-range boxing and body work. Masvidal suggested Prates' length and knees could stop wrestlers like Islam Makhachev from changing levels, though he cautioned that Makhachev's wrestling is on another level. Dean Thomas highlighted how Prates mixes his knees seamlessly with hand strikes, making them difficult to see. Dustin Poirier emphasized that Prates opened up Della Maddalena's guard with knees and elbows, and that throwing knees fearlessly shows Prates isn't worried about takedowns.