Carlos Prates' dominant performance against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth , held last Saturday (2), in Australia, continues to resonate among big names in MMA. Former champion and current commentator Daniel Cormier assessed the Brazilian's performance , placing the athlete as a strong candidate to fight for the belt in the next stages of his career.
Against Della Maddalena, Prates delivered one of the best performances of his Ultimate career. Dominating throughout three rounds, the Fighting Nerds fighter controlled the action and finished the fight with elbows in ground and pound, extending his knockout streak in the organization.
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In an analysis published on his YouTube channel, Cormier highlighted the level of Prates' performance and stated that the Brazilian has already entered the list of possible challengers for the belt, especially due to the impact of the victory over yet another former champion.
“ Carlos Prates has now placed himself on the list of fighters who can challenge champion Islam Makhachev . He was already close to it before, but this victory was different. The way he beat the former champion was impressive. Honestly, I kept wondering 'how?', because I had never seen Jack dominated like that,” he stated.
The former champion also emphasized that he expected a more balanced fight, mainly due to the Australian's style, but highlighted that the Brazilian completely neutralized his opponent inside the octagon. Furthermore, Cormier pointed to Prates' clear improvement after his loss to Ian Machado Garry and stated that the Brazilian is already demonstrating the level to compete for the organization's title.
“I thought Jack’s style might cause problems, but there were no problems at all. Carlos’ punching power, his knees, his initiative, and his composure made all the difference. This performance showed me two things: first, that Prates is ready to fight for the UFC belt.”
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