UFC fighters analyze Prates' devastating knee strikes against Della Maddalena

Multiple UFC fighters including Cory Sandhagen, Jorge Masvidal, Dean Thomas, and Dustin Poirier provided detailed breakdowns of Carlos Prates' knee strike technique in his victory over Jack Della Maddalena. Sandhagen emphasized the unique spring-loaded power of Prates' knees and how he transitions them into high kicks, calling it mega high-level technique. Masvidal noted that Prates covered massive distance with the knees and effectively shut down Della Maddalena's close-range boxing, comparing the performance to Mortal Kombat and suggesting it could be a nightmare for Islam Makhachev if Prates can avoid early takedowns. Thomas highlighted how Prates mixed knees seamlessly with his hands, while Poirier praised how the knees and elbows broke through Della Maddalena's guard and noted Prates' fearlessness of takedowns allows him to throw knees more freely. The consensus among analysts was that Prates displayed some of the best knee work seen in recent UFC history.