Carlos Prates criticized Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland for their approach to trash talk, arguing that fighters from Brazil have a fundamentally different and more serious relationship with personal insults. Prates singled out Chimaev's comments about Strickland's father and expressed that remarks targeting family members cross a clear line. He also reacted strongly to comments made by Haqparast directed at Poatan, saying such words would have serious consequences on Brazilian streets.
Brazilian welterweight contender Carlos Prates stepped into the spotlight on June 2 to call out what he sees as a troubling trend in MMA trash talk, directing his criticism specifically at middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev and middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Prates, ranked fifth at welterweight and carrying a 24-7 record, made clear that fighters from Brazil operate under a different code when it comes to personal insults. The 32-year-old southpaw out of Vale Top Team, standing six-foot-one with a 78-inch reach, argued that the kind of verbal jousting common in MMA media would carry far heavier consequences in a Brazilian cultural context. He also reacted sharply to comments made by Nasrat Haqparast directed at Alex Poatan, suggesting that such words on the streets of Brazil would invite a serious response.
Prates reserved particular criticism for Chimaev, taking direct issue with remarks the Allstars Training Center standout made targeting Strickland's father. For Prates, family is an absolute boundary that no fighter should cross regardless of promotional intent.
Chimaev, the number-one ranked middleweight and number-ten pound-for-pound fighter, holds a 15-1 record and trains out of the UAE. The 32-year-old has built a reputation as one of the sport's most dominant grapplers, averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes. Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion, is 31-7 and fights out of Xtreme Couture. The 35-year-old American is one of the most active strikers in the division, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute.
Why it matters
- Prates' comments reflect a broader cultural debate within MMA about the limits of promotional trash talk
- His criticism of Chimaev adds friction between a rising welterweight contender and one of the middleweight division's biggest stars
- The remarks about Haqparast and Poatan signal that Brazilian fighters may push back more publicly against targeted personal insults going forward
