Colby
Covington believes Carlos
Prates stands no chance against Islam
Makhachev.
Prates (24-7) is currently considered a leading contender for the
next
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot against
Makhachev (29-1). Covington predicts that the Brazilian would be
the easiest opponent of Makhachev’s career.
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Covington predicts Islam Makhachev will submit Carlos Prates,
questions Michael Morales’ experience
According to Covington, Makhachev would have little trouble taking
Prates down and submitting him.
“Carlos has nothing for him,” Covington told Ariel Helwani. “He’s
just a straight striker. That’s gonna be the easiest fight of
Makhachev’s career. I think [Makhachev] takes him down and submits
him with a kimura or a head-and-arm choke.”
Unbeaten welterweight Michael
Morales is another leading contender at 170 pounds. Covington
is unsure how Morales would fare against Makhachev, noting that the
Ecuadorian has had few opportunities to demonstrate his grappling
skills in his last three bouts, all of which ended in first-round
knockouts.
“We got to see how his [Morales’] takedown defense is,” Covington
added. “We haven’t seen him in any big fights, high-level
five-round fights, so we don’t know what to expect from him… I
think he is still unproven and there’s a lot to be seen from that
guy.”
Prates and Makhachev have been linked to a potential title fight
early next year, before the start of Ramadan. Meanwhile, Morales
recently teased an upcoming fight announcement before fellow
undefeated welterweight Shavkat
Rakhmonov hinted at a potential matchup with the Ecuadorian.
Both fighters hold 19-0 records.
Colby
Covington says Carlos
Prates has ’no chance‘ against Islam
Makhachev and calls it the easiest fight of Makhachev’s career:
“Carlos has nothing for him. He’s just a straight striker. That’s
gonna be the easiest fight of Makhachev’s career. I think he takes
him down and submits him with like a Kimura or a head-and-arm
choke.” Colby is less certain about Michael
Morales: “We gotta see how his takedown defense is. We haven’t
seen him in any big fights, high-level five-round fights, so we
don’t know what to expect from him.”— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
October 7, 2026