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

Multiple UFC fighters provided detailed technical breakdowns of Carlos Prates' knee strikes in his victory over Jack Della Maddalena. Cory Sandhagen highlighted how Prates' left knee changed the fight, noting the unique power generation from springing rather than stepping, and how Prates disguised knees as high kicks. Sandhagen called it "mega high level" work and praised how Prates used elbows to break through Della Maddalena's guard in ways Sandhagen couldn't against Petr Yan. Jorge Masvidal described it as "Mortal Kombat level" striking, noting how the knee threat alone disabled Della Maddalena's clinch work and body shots. Masvidal suggested that while the knees could trouble wrestlers like Islam Makhachev, an early takedown could become Prates' nightmare. Dustin Poirier and Dean Thomas both emphasized how Prates mixed his knees seamlessly with punches, making them difficult to see and preventing Della Maddalena from finding his boxing range.