Carlos Prates will fight another former UFC welterweight champion in the octagon on May 2, and he’s confident that a finish — and a bonus — earns him a shot at the 170-pound belt after Ian Machado Garry faces Islam Makhachev.
Prates gave Leon Edwards the first knockout loss of his career in November and called out Jack Della Maddalena next in Australia. The UFC granted both wishes, pairing them up for the main event of UFC Perth, and Prates vows to “get there and bring that title shot to Brazil.”
“I think that beating a former champion for the second time in a row, and by knockout, will lock in the title shot,” Prates told MMA Fighting. “There’s no one else for them to give the fight to but me. If everything goes right and I win another bonus, that’ll be eight fights and seven bonuses. Come on, who else is there? Is [Michael] Morales going to fight? How? In what way? There’s no way. He’s never beaten a former champion. The kid is undefeated, he’s good, but there’s no way.”
The UFC has yet to announce who will be the first in line to challenge Makhachev. UFC CEO Dana White recently revealed the Russian star will re-enter the octagon in August, and Prates believes Garry will be the opponent. Prates, in fact, said he won’t campaign to face leapfrog Garry.
“I don’t want to come out of this fight and already fight for the belt in August,” Prates said. “Of course, I’ll fight if the UFC calls me, but I’d rather let Ian Garry fight and then we’ll see what happens, and I fight later. I want time to take care of my injuries, recover after the fight, get back to training, improve a bit, and then fight. I’m not in a rush.”
Garry was the only men to beat Prates in seven UFC fights, winning a five-round decision in April 2025. The Irishman won a decision over former champion Belal Muhammad in November, while Prates rebounded with back-to-back knockouts over Geoff Neal and Edwards.
Garry will likely be the betting underdog against Makhachev, but Prates is hopeful that the belt changes hands.
“I’m rooting for it to change so Ian Garry and I can have our rematch for the belt,” Prates said. “We want that rematch here in Brazil, you know? He called me about three weeks ago and we have a plan: I beat Maddalena, he beats Makhachev, and then we do our rematch here in Brazil.”
“I think the UFC will match us up,” he added, when asked of a potential Garry vs. Makchachev immediate rematch. “If he wins the belt, then we’ll do our rematch.”
Prates needs to get the job done in Perth to then “hope” for the second part of that scenario to come to fruition, and he sees Maddalena as “definitely the toughest opponent” of his MMA career so far.
“Leon Edwards is also a former champion, but I think he was already coming off several losses,” Prates said. “Now let’s see Jack Della Maddalena. Usually when a champion loses the belt, they start losing, losing, losing. Let’s hope that happens [laughs], that it’s his second straight loss. I’m working really hard for that because I think he’s one of the toughest guys I’ll face. He was a champion and went five rounds with Makhachev, not everyone can do that.”
Prates praised Maddalena’s boxing skills, but thinks he’s the best striker in the welterweight division today. He wouldn’t go as far as call himself the best in all of MMA because he’s a fan of others strikers, citing Alex Pereira and Usman Nurmagomedov. Yet, he respects Maddalena’s hands.
“He’s that kind of boxer who doesn’t move his head much and throws his hands trying to knock you out, you know?” Prates said. “He’s a good boxer, and I’m a good striker. I can also throw knees, kicks, elbows. Let’s see how he reacts on May 2.”
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