Carlos Prates stated that the UFC plans to match him next for a title fight against the winner of Makhachev versus Garry.
Carlos Prates has claimed he is being lined up for a welterweight title shot against the winner of the Islam Makhachev versus Ian Garry bout, though the matchup has not been officially confirmed by the UFC.
Prates, nicknamed "The Nightmare," enters the picture as one of the division's most dangerous strikers. The 32-year-old Brazilian trains out of Vale Top Team and carries a 24-7 record while currently sitting at number five in the welterweight rankings. At six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach, he generates 3.77 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy, making him a genuine knockout threat to anyone across the cage. His ground game remains largely untested by choice — he averages just 0.21 takedowns per 15 minutes and has not registered a submission attempt.
On the other side of the equation sits welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who holds a 28-1 record and currently ranks at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. The 34-year-old Russian, fighting out of Eagles MMA, is a southpaw standing five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach. Makhachev's wrestling-heavy game produces 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes, and he adds 1.1 submission attempts per 15 minutes — a style that would represent a sharp contrast to whatever Prates would bring standing up.
Why it matters
- A title fight would be Prates's first UFC championship opportunity, with the winner of Makhachev-Garry holding the welterweight belt
- Prates's reach advantage of eight inches over Makhachev sets up a compelling striker-versus-grappler dynamic
- At number five in the division, Prates would need to leapfrog higher-ranked contenders for the shot, adding further uncertainty to reports that remain unconfirmed
