Carlos Prates believes he can beat Islam Makhachev

Prates gained confidence after watching Islam Makhachev struggle against Ian Machado Garry

Carlos Prates recently revealed in an interview with Gilbert Burns that, following the UFC 330 event, he feels more confident that he could actually defeat Islam Makhachev. He said that Islam Makhachev looked quite beatable in that fight against Ian Machado Garry, and that he even recognized some of Ian Machado Garry’s tactics, tactics that he himself uses quite often.

“Man, honestly, I think I got even more confident, man. Because of the stuff I’ve seen and the time we have to train, I said, man, I think it’s possible”

he said.

He then responded to Ian Machado Garry’s defensive strategy, saying that he had often defended with his back to the wall. Carlos Prates does this quite often himself and sees it as another opportunity, since it seems to work very well against Islam Makhachev. He also sees his chance in the fact that he prefers to stay on his feet, which makes it significantly harder for Islam Makhachev because he doesn’t give up his position easily. By the way, he also talked about Ian Machado Garry’s mistakes.

“But he would sit down, man. He would sit down and reach back, trying to take the back. I do everything standing up, man, so there’s no risk of losing the position. So I said, man, I think this guy’s gonna get screwed, you know? I think when I get a hold of him”

he said.

Later, Carlos Prates even revealed a specific date and venue. He mentioned the UFC 334 event in New York. However, everything he said is, of course, just speculation, and the UFC actually has to schedule a fight first. Until then, we can only wait and see what happens between the fighters.

I think Carlos Prates would be a really interesting contender. However, for me, Ian Machado Garry had the size advantage, which made me think it could be really tough for Islam Makhachev. Sure, it was, but I’m not really sure anymore if this guy is even beatable right now.