Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates will certainly be on the shortlist for the 2024 Breakout Fighter of the Year award after he scored his fourth consecutive knockout under the UFC banner last night at UFC Vegas 100.
If you thought the finish was good, the post-fight callouts were even better.
Carlos Prates scores brutal first-round KO in the main event of UFC Vegas 100
Welterweight prospect Carlos Prates made easy work of veteran Neil Magny last night in the main event of UFC Vegas 100, scoring a brutal walk-off KO with just 10 seconds remaining of the very first round.
It was a truly unbelievable finish, so unbelievable in fact that it’s even prompted fans to suggest that Magny had faked the KO and taken a dive to get away from Prates as quickly as possible.
Such conspiracy theories are obviously absurd, with the slow-motion replay showing that Prates’ final shot grazed Magny’s temple; yet the finish catapults the Brazilian into the Top 15 – so what’s next for the Brazilian knockout artist?
Carlos Prates calls out JDM for UFC 312, but also offers more realistic alternative
Speaking to Michael Bisping in the octagon, Prates stated that he was keen to get his next fight booked for UFC 312, which takes place in February 2025 out in Sydney, and he knows exactly who’d make the perfect dance partner down under.
“To be honest, I think the perfect [next] fight would be in Australia – as you guys know, I have a daughter over there and I really would love to visit her and fight there in Australia, against Jack Della Maddalena.
“All respect to the guy, I don’t know if it’s too far away [in the rankings] but against Jack Della Maddalena would be amazing.”
JDM is currently the #4 ranked welterweight contender in the world, with Prates expected to enter the Top 15 come Tuesday’s update; however, that might be a bit too much of a gap for the UFC to book such a matchup next.
Luckily, Prates had an alternative name in mind, teasing that “I think it would be a really good fight against Geoff Neal,” – a much more realistic callout, with Neal retaining the #10 spot.
“Bro, to be honest, I think the best option would be against Jack Della Maddalena, but you have to [look at] the ranks,” explained the Brazilian at the post-fight press conference.
“He’s #4 and I’ll probably be #15, so I don’t know if he will accept this fight… If it’s so far [up the rankings] and the UFC or Jack Della Maddalena don’t want to do it [next] then I would be happy with a fight against Geoff Neal; that would be cool.”
UFC 312 is scheduled for February 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and should Prates get booked for that PPV event, he’ll be looking to get some quality R&R afterward.
“I have a lot of injuries, so I want to fight in Australia and the UFC gives me a fight before I see my doctors… But yeah, I really want to fight in Australia.
“You can expect a more intelligent, smart fighter – like I said this week, it’s time to think with my brain and not with my heart so I’m going to sit with my team and see what’s better.”
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Prates is now 21-6 as a professional and 4-0 under the UFC banner with all four of those wins ending via KO/TKO.
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