Carlos Prates has a lot of respect for Ian Garry. |
Getty/UFC
Carlos
Prates believes Ian Garry has
the tools to beat Islam
Makhachev.
Garry is currently among the frontrunners for the next welterweight
title shot against Islam
Makhachev. Prates believes that while it’ll be an uphill task,
Garry has certain skills needed to beat Makhachev. However, if
Prates has to put his money on someone, he is certainly picking
Makhachev. But Prates really wants Garry to win so that he can
avenge his loss against the Irishman in a title fight, hopefully in
Brazil.
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“I think [Garry can beat Makhachev]. It’s hard, but I think he has
some skills needed to beat Islam,” Prates said on „The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If I need to bet my money,
of course Islam. But I really want Ian to get the belt, and then we
do a rematch in Brazil for the title.”
Mutual Respect
Prates suffered his only loss in the
UFC against Garry last year. For “The Nightmare,” avenging the
loss against Garry is more important than fighting a legend like
Makhachev.
“To get the revenge against Ian [is more important than beating
Makhachev],” Prates said. “We have a really good relationship. We
have a lot of respect for each other.”
Prates (23-7) has bounced back from the loss against Garry with
knockout wins over Geoff Neal
and Leon
Edwards. The Brazilian is now scheduled to fight former
champion Jack
Della Maddalena (18-3) in enemy territory at UFC Perth
on May 2.