‘Nightmare’ by name; Nightmare by nature. Carlos Prates scored a brutal first-round knockout to claim victory over veteran Neil Magny in the main event of UFC Vegas 100 last night.
Unfortunately, yet another conspiracy theory has taken hold of the wider MMA fanbase, with countless posts on social media this morning accusing Neil Magny of faking being knocked out – ‘The Nightmare’ responds in kind.
Neil Magny accused of ‘faking getting knocked out’ in UFC Vegas 100 main event
After stuffing a series of early takedowns, Brazilian welterweight contender Carlos Prates went hunting for the finish and it didn’t take long as he scored a vicious walk-off KO just as the clapper went for the final 10 seconds of round one.
Whilst the commentators were initially unsure about the shot that ultimately dropped Magny; on the slow-motion replay, it became evident that Prates’ punch had just ever-so-slightly grazed the side of his head – with ‘The Haitian Sensation’ out cold before he’d even hit the canvas.
Unfortunately, MMA Twitter (X) had already taken issue with the finish, and you won’t have to scroll too far on social media today to find accusations that Magny either faked getting knocked out or took a dive in order to save face – again, both claims are completely absurd.
Carlos Prates responds to claim Neil Magny took a dive in first-round stoppage
As fans began to analyze the footage, Prates was asked about the conspiracy theory at the post-fight press conference – and it’s safe to say that ‘The Nightmare’ isn’t happy with people taking away anything from his victory.
“I think they [fans claiming foul play] should come here and let me give [them] a punch on the head and then after they can talk,” teased Prates, noting that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened in his UFC tenure.
“You know when I fought Li Jingliang, it was the same for the first knockdown – I hit his [temple] on his head and he went down, you know, and Neil Magny was the same.
“I train a lot of boxing, I train boxing maybe four or five times per week and you know, my hand bro – when I punch you, no matter where or how, you’re going to get hurt.”
Prates is now 4-0 in the UFC, with all four of those victories coming by way of KO/TKO and each more brutal than the last. He is expected to enter the Top 15 come Tuesday’s update.
“[Landing] on the head is different to on the face,” he later explained at the post-fight press conference.
“On the face, you get a little bit dizzy [from shots] but on the head, it cuts your legs and then you feel nothing, then you come back like ‘Woah’.”
The message to those who still believe that Magny faked the KO is a simple one, in Prates’ own words: “[To the] people talking s***, they should come here and let me hit them [in the] head and then they talk after.”