Carlos Prates believes he has punched his ticket to a welterweight title shot after stopping Jack Della Maddalena by TKO at UFC Perth in the Australian’s hometown.
Prates, who says he has now beaten two former champions including Leon Edwards and Della Maddalena, made his intentions clear when discussing what should come next. “I should be next,” Prates said. “Nobody beat two former champs in a really good way. They never lost by knockout, and then I come there and make it look easy. All respect to them, they are tough. But against Leon [Edwards], against [Jack Della Maddalena], I made it look easy, and I’m next. Of course you have [Michael] Morales, but Morales didn’t fight a former champ. I fought two former champs, so I will be next.”
The welterweight picture is already busy, with Islam Makhachev expected to face Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15th. Prates noted, “You have Ian, he’s going to fight now against Makhachev,” but remains confident about his own place in the queue: “So the next [one] is going to be Carlos Prates.”
Prates and Garry remain on good terms despite Garry defeating him in April 2025. “We talk sometimes, and he called me a month and a half ago,” Prates said, recalling a recent conversation that included the message: “Hey brother, you need to beat JDM, then I’m going to beat Islam, and then we can do a rematch in Brazil. It would be amazing.”
Prates has also expressed interest in a potential rematch with Garry and a future fight with Makhachev, while acknowledging his title hopes could be affected if Ilia Topuria beats Justin Gaethje in June and moves to welterweight to challenge Makhachev.
