Several UFC fighters broke down Carlos Prates' exceptional use of knee strikes in his recent victory. Cory Sandhagen highlighted Prates' unique technique of springing into his knees with tremendous power rather than simply stepping, and praised how he mixed knees with high kicks by changing the angle. Sandhagen also noted Prates' use of elbows to break through his opponent's guard, something Sandhagen struggled with against Petr Yan. Jorge Masvidal compared Prates' performance to Mortal Kombat and called his knee work some of the best he has seen in a long time, noting how the threat of knees completely shut down DdM's close-range boxing. Dustin Poirier and Dean Thomas also praised how Prates mixed his knees seamlessly with hand strikes. Masvidal suggested that while Prates could threaten Islam Makhachev with knees, Makhachev's wrestling would be an extreme challenge if he secured early takedowns.
