Keep an eye on him! Carlos Prates reveals the 'nerd' who helped him the most to knock out the former champion: 'The best lightweight outside the UFC'

Prates knocked out Della Maddalena at UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

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Carlos Prates He is experiencing the best moment of his MMA career and, last Saturday (2), achieved his biggest victory, but he did not reach such prominence alone. In the main fight of UFC PerthIn Australia, the Brazilian crushed it. Jack Della Maddalena, former welterweight champion (up to 77,1 kg), and once again proved to be one of the best strikers today. And one professional in particular was responsible for transforming the fighter into a machine.

It's no secret that the main highlights of the popular 'Fighting Nerds' academy are Caio Borralho, Carlos Prates e Jean SilvaBut at the post-press conferenceUFC Perth'The Nightmare' revealed that the fighter who helped him the most in training camp to face the Australian was Felipe Buakaw.

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A veteran of MMA, the 33-year-old athlete's strength lies in his striking, making him a valuable asset in preparing the team's top fighters. Therefore, given Buakaw's pushing him to the limit, Prates emphasized that his work in the fight was made easier. And, precisely because he knew the quality of his friend and training partner, the top welterweight praised him and lobbied for his signing.

“That guy over there, Felipe Douglas, is like a brother to me. He trained a lot with me and fought exactly like Jack does. And the fight went exactly as I expected. Every time the fight played out in my mind, I practiced various combinations of strikes, thinking about how I could knock him out, and that's exactly what I did. He's a bit tougher than I imagined, but the fight went exactly as I expected,” said the UFC's top welterweight.

“I said I would knock him out in the third round, and I knocked him out in the third round. He did exactly what I expected. Felipe and I trained a lot. He’s a very good fighter for me, the best lightweight outside of the UFC, and he helped me a lot. We train a lot. So, especially when the fight started, I felt it was exactly like we did in training, and I thought, ‘There’s no way you’re going to lose. No chance,’” he concluded.

Prates and Buakaw during training. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/felipebuakaw

Buakaw Fighters in MMA

Felipe Buakaw, 33, is a veteran of the sport and his main weapon is striking. The Brazilian began his MMA career in 2012 and has built a record of 26 wins and seven losses.