After making history and beating Ian Garry in the main event of UFC 330 in the early hours of this Sunday (16), Islam Makhachev seems to already have a new opponent in mind: Carlos Prates . In an interview for Paramount+ in the studio a few minutes after leaving the octagon, the world welterweight champion (up to 77,1 kg) spoke about possible names to be faced in the future.
When asked about the top names in the division and which of them could occupy the opponent's corner upon his return to the world's most famous octagon, he praised the Brazilian's career, who since his loss to Ian Garry has achieved great knockouts against Geoff Neal , Leon Edwards , and Jack Della Maddalena.
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“I believe it’s Prates. Prates has stayed active and has been fighting well. Shavkat Rakhmonov hasn’t fought in a long time. Morales is also good, but I don’t remember the last time he fought. If you ask me who deserves it more, I’d say it’s Prates,” stated the champion.
Islam Makhachev thinks Carlos Prates is the most deserving of the next title shot
“If you ask who is most deserving, I think Carlos Prates .”
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Makhachev changed his tune at the press conference.
Prates at the UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube/UFC
Despite having chosen "Nightmare" as the most deserving name to share the octagon with him in the next round, the Russian brought up another point of view when questioned again about the matter during the press conference. This time, considering the large number of possible challengers, he suggested a solution to be able to define a specific athlete.
“I don’t know who I want to face. It doesn’t matter who it will be. Maybe they (Morales and Prates) should fight each other and the winner fights for the title. But it’s all good. I’m happy that we have real challengers in this division. These guys, Morales, Prates, Shavkat, they make me train hard every day because they are real fighters who can give me good fights,” he stated.
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