UFC fighters analyze Carlos Prates' devastating knee and elbow striking techniques

Multiple UFC fighters provided technical breakdowns of Carlos Prates' striking after his performance against Joaquin Buckley. Cory Sandhagen highlighted Prates' unique knee strikes that don't use a step but generate power by springing upward, noting how Prates transitions the knee motion into left high kicks that wrap around opponents' heads. Sandhagen also praised Prates' use of chopping elbows that broke through Buckley's defensive guard. Jorge Masvidal called it "some Mortal Kombat level stuff," emphasizing how the threat of knees alone disabled Buckley's offense and prevented him from working in the clinch or boxing at close range. Masvidal noted Prates' length advantage at welterweight could stop wrestlers like Islam Makhachev with knees when they change levels, though acknowledged Makhachev's grappling operates at a different stratosphere. Dean Thomas credited Prates' ability to hide his knees while mixing them with hand strikes, while Dustin Poirier observed that Prates' fearlessness of takedowns allows him to throw knees more confidently.