Carlos Prates is candid and admits he has little chance of beating Islam Makhachev in the UFC.

Prates celebrates victory in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

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Carlos Prates expresses confidence when analyzing his chances of overcoming Islam Makhachev in the UFC, even while admitting that the challenge is complicated. After knocking out Leon Edwards at UFC 322, the Fighting Nerds athlete has definitively put his name in contention for the welterweight title (up to 77 kg), currently held by the Dagestani fighter.

In an interview with 'Olhar da Luta', Prates assessed that, although he considers that he and his competitors have about a 30% chance of beating Makhachev given the complexity of the champion's style, the smoker believes he is the competitor best prepared to take advantage of that margin.

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“I think that if I fight him, I believe that, just like Morales and Maddalena had, we have, given the difficulty of the match, about a 30% chance of beating Islam. But I'm the guy who has the best chance of taking advantage of that 30%, because of my fighting style, the way I fight, the strikes I throw,” said Carlos Prates.

Carlos Prates also detailed his strategy for a possible confrontation. According to the smoker, the plan would primarily involve resisting takedowns and keeping the fight standing, even though he acknowledges that he will be taken down at some point. The nightmare fighter believes that many athletes focus all their attention on avoiding takedowns, but end up unprepared to get back up quickly.

“So, the game will be the same: defending takedowns. Of course, I'll go down if I fight him, but the focus is on staying standing. I think people focus too much on not getting taken down and then needing to get back up, bro. I focus a lot on that. Sometimes I don't even focus so much on defending takedowns because if I get too worried, I don't unleash my stand-up game. So I prefer to train to get up and throw punches, which is the house's main strength,” concluded Carlos Prates.

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