Multiple UFC fighters provided technical breakdowns of Carlos Prates' knee strike performance in his recent victory. Cory Sandhagen highlighted the unique mechanics of Prates' left knee, explaining he generates power by spring-loading his entire body rather than stepping into the strike, and praised how Prates converted the knee threat into high kicks that wrapped around the head. Sandhagen also noted Prates' elbow work broke through defensive blocks in ways he couldn't achieve against Petr Yan, though acknowledged his own shoulders no longer have the flexibility for such techniques. Jorge Masvidal called it "some Mortal Kombat level shit," emphasizing how the knee threat alone shut down the opponent's close-range boxing and clinch work. Both Masvidal and Dustin Poirier noted Prates showed no fear of takedowns, allowing bolder knee attacks. Dean Thomas praised how seamlessly Prates mixed knees with hand strikes, making them difficult to see coming.
