Carlos
Prates should not count himself out of the next
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title shot just
yet.
Prates, Michael
Morales, Ian Garry and
Kamaru
Usman are all in the running for the next welterweight title
shot against Islam
Makhachev (28-1). Prates dominantly beat down Jack Della
Maddlena en route to a third-round stoppage win at
UFC Perth last weekend and subsequently claimed that Makhachev
is set to defend his title against Garry in August. “The Nightmare”
said that he is willing to wait for the winner of that bout, which
was allegedly confirmed. However, Makhachev says no one from the
UFC has said who his next opponent will be. According to Makhachev,
there are still four contenders in the running for the next title
shot, including Usman, who himself admitted that he is out of the
race.
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“The UFC haven’t informed me yet, but there’s been a lot of rumors
about me fighting Ian Garry next,” Makhachev told Red Corner MMA.
“Yet, I haven’t talked with any [UFC] officials about this fight.
So, I can’t tell for sure who is the next contender. I’ve got three
or four possible matchups. Kamaru Usman is also up there. Ian
Garry, Morales, Prates. That’s four contenders, plus Shavkat
[Rakhmonov] might be No. 5. They’re all expecting a title
shot.”
Based on Prates’ win over Maddalena last weekend, Makhachev
believes a fight against the Brazilian would generate the most
hype.
“I think Prates has got the hype now. He’s talked about much more
now. So, I think a fight against him would be the most
interesting.”
Prates (24-7) suffered his only UFC loss against Garry.