Carlos Prates Promises Knockout of Islam Makhachev for UFC Title
Carlos Prates is not treating a future title fight as a mystery. The Brazilian welterweight says he will knock out UFC champion Islam Makhachev and bring the belt to Brazil.
He made that guarantee on The Ariel Helwani Show, only days after Makhachev’s latest defense. Prates framed the finish as a promise to his country and his coach.
“I know I’ll knock him out. I promise. I promise everybody. I promise people in Brazil, I promise my coach… we gonna change everybody’s life, and I will bring that belt to Brazil.”
The timing is not accidental. Makhachev retained the welterweight title on Aug. 15, beating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision in the UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia.
The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47. The result moved Makhachev to 29-1 and stretched his UFC winning streak to 17 consecutive fights, the longest in promotional history.
It was also his first successful defense of the 170-pound championship he took from Jack Della Maddalena last November. Prates was in the building, and he has used the days since to push himself to the front of the line.
The 33-year-old is 24-7 overall and 7-1 inside the Octagon. Nineteen of his 24 career wins have come by knockout or TKO.
That finishing rate is the core of his pitch. Prates stopped Geoff Neal in the first round at UFC 319, knocked out former champion Leon Edwards in round two at UFC 322, then finished Della Maddalena in the third round on May 2 in Perth.
He has collected a Performance of the Night bonus in every UFC win. Officially, he is the No. 2-ranked welterweight, with Machado Garry still listed No. 1 on a board last updated before UFC 330.
Prates told Helwani the next step is already settled on his side of the table. After meeting with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, he said he signed a new contract and was told he is next for the title.
“I’m the next for the title.”
The promotion has not posted the fight. Until that announcement arrives, Prates is describing a private conversation, not a signed bout.
Makhachev has not closed the door. After UFC 330, the pound-for-pound No. 1 said he wants to fight again before Ramadan and listed both Prates and No. 3-ranked Michael Morales among the live options.
The champion also asked why those two were not matched with each other on the Philadelphia card to decide the top contender. Prates has no appetite for that detour.
He told Helwani that Morales still needs another win. Morales is 19-0, but his most recent bout was a November stoppage of Sean Brady at UFC 322, the same event where Prates knocked out Edwards.
That activity gap is now part of the title argument. Prates has finished two former champions in his last two fights, while Morales has been waiting since last fall.
Prates does not sell the champion as easy work. On the same Helwani appearance, he called himself a sizable underdog and said he wants the fight as a test of himself, not only as a path to money or gold.
Makhachev’s streak was built on wrestling, control, and titles at lightweight and welterweight. Prates is a southpaw striker from Taubaté whose UFC run has been defined by ending fights before they reach the judges.
A title meeting would ask whether Prates can land the knockout of Islam Makhachev he keeps guaranteeing. It would also put Brazil in position to claim the welterweight championship if that power shows up on the biggest night of his career.
No date has been confirmed. Makhachev has pointed to a return before Ramadan, with late 2026 or January among the windows he has discussed.
Prates says he is ready to start that camp now. The next confirmed step is an official UFC announcement, and until it lands, he is preparing as if the champion is already across from him.